Tennis-Indomitable Sinner obliterates Lehecka to reach French Open fourth round
Chess grandmasters Gukesh, Carlsen, and others took a break from tournament play to enjoy Wild West-themed activities at Westernbyen, including horseshoe throwing, axe hurling, shooting, and horse posing, with Magnus Carlsen and his wife emerging victorious.
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Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Indian Express
5 grandmaster-recommended must-read books on chess
If The Queen's Gambit (Netflix) or Gukesh's historic win over Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess 2025 has you either dusting out your old chess sets or downloading an app on your phone, these five books—recommended by grandmasters—will sharpen your skills and deepen your understanding of the game. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced player, these books will elevate your game. Start with Fischer or Tal for inspiration, then dive into Dvoretsky for technical mastery. Garry Kasparov, one of chess's greatest minds, dissects the games of past world champions in this legendary series. Blending historical context with razor-sharp analysis, Kasparov reveals how chess evolved from Steinitz to Fischer. It's a masterclass in strategic thinking—perfect for players who want to understand the foundations of modern chess. Why it's essential? Kasparov's insights help bridge the gap between classical and hypermodern play. Magnus Carlsen himself called it 'pretty good,' while young stars like Duda credit it for strengthening their intuition. Whether you're an intermediate player or an advanced competitor, this series will reshape how you approach the game. Best for: Players who want a deep dive into chess history and elite-level strategy. 2. Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual – Mark Dvoretsky Endgames win tournaments, for which this book is the gold standard. Dvoretsky's masterpiece breaks down essential endgame principles with crystal-clear explanations and challenging exercises. From basic king-and-pawn endings to advanced rook maneuvers, it's a must for serious players. Why it's essential? Not without reason,Garry Kasparov, called it his 'favourite chess book' at beginning of the 21st century. Gukesh's win over Carlsen proves that endgame resilience separates champions from contenders. Best for: Playerslooking to turn draws into wins and losses into saves. 3. My 60 Memorable Games – Bobby Fischer Bobby Fischer's legendary book is a masterclass in clarity and aggression. His self-annotated games reveal his razor-sharp calculations and uncompromising style. The commentary is succinct yet packed with wisdom—ideal for learning how to attack with precision. Why it's essential? Levon Aronian and Yasser Seirawan swear by it. Best for: Players who love tactical brilliance and want to think like a world champion. 4. Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 – David Bronstein Far from a mere games collection, the book provides a gripping narrative. Bronstein's discriptive annotations capture the drama, psychology, and creativity of one of history's greatest tournaments. Why it's essential? Peter Svidler and David Navara adore it for its storytelling. This book demonstrates chess is as much about nerves as moves. Best for: Players who enjoy rich, humanised chess analysis. 5. The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal – Mikhail Tal Tal, the 'Magician of Riga,' reveals how he conjured miracles on the board. His daring sacrifices and intuitive play make this one of the most entertaining chess books ever. Why it's essential? Tal's fearlessness is a lesson for every player. Best for: Players who want to embrace creativity and unpredictability.
New Indian Express
8 hours ago
- New Indian Express
How Gukesh borrowed a Djokovician trait to beat Carlsen & Erigaisi at their own game
STAVANGER: At one point of time on the Norway Chess broadcast on Sunday, commentators Tania Sachdev, David Howell and Jovanka Houska were talking about the distinct possibility of D Gukesh being at the bottom of the six-man tournament after the sixth round. The Indian world champion, under all kinds of pressure from Magnus Carlsen, was just about hanging, surviving. His only aim was not to lose instantly. That was 8.30 PM local time on Sunday. 24 hours later, at 8.30 PM on Monday, it was deja vu all over again. Gukesh was again under all sorts of pressure from Arjun Erigaisi. But — and this is what the 19-year-old has essentially done throughout his fledgling but already elite chess career — he found a way to convert both of those games from almost loss positions to big, narrative-shattering wins. When Gukesh and his team — comprising coach Grzegorz Gajewski and father, Dr. Rajinikanth — left for Norway Chess on May 23, this was one of their aims. To beat Carlsen and Erigaisi. The world champion had played both of them at least five times each in Classical chess but he had yet to taste a win. He has now got that monkey off his back in the most satisfying way possible — and against the odds, comeback from the brink. In both those games, Carlsen and Erigaisi committed miscalculations and game-changing blunders in the endgame which allowed their opponent to embrace the light at the end of a long tunnel. But flip that argument on its head. The only reason why both of them even got into that stage of having to make extra moves with the clock ticking down is because of Gukesh's innate ability and love of suffering as long as the opponent suffers with him. This is one of the things the Indian World No 5 has seemingly borrowed from Novak Djokovic, another elite athlete who loves suffering as long as the person on the other side suffers. During both games, the evaluation bar massively favoured Carlsen and Erigaisi at one point. Both those games turned because the Indian did two things. He married calculation with precision with a dollop of intuitiveness. His opponents scrambled under time pressure. In a sense, you could say Gukesh — not really known to excel in the quicker formats as well as at playing intuitive chess — beat Carlsen and Erigaisi at their own games. Both Gajewski and Carlsen addressed this aspect of Gukesh over the last 48 hours. "When you are in trouble and you keep fighting and you get rewarded for it, you have even more faith that it makes sense to keep fighting. So the very next day, when you're again in trouble, you definitely know what to do, you just keep fighting," Gajewski said of his ward's win on Monday. Mental resolve. Ability to fight. Keep pushing. However you dress it up, it's one of Gukesh's big party tricks. It's what made Carlsen famous more than a decade ago, his capacity to keep pushing, keep fighting and keep the person on the other end of the table glued to the chair for as long as possible. It's what the Super GM displayed on Sunday in a position which didn't favour the white pieces for the first three hours and change. "I remember being that age myself and sometimes your energy, your fighting qualities and your optimism are bigger than the quality of your moves," Carlsen reflected on Monday. "For a long time, Gukesh was just blindly pushing." That has enabled the world champion to rescue a tournament that had threatened to snowball into a crisis of confidence two days into the tournament when he was pointless. Now, he's joint second and has all the momentum in the world. Will he capitalise?
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Norway Chess: In beating Erigaisi, Gukesh shows ‘extraordinary' abilities
Stavanger: Moments after D Gukesh pulled off a stunning heist on Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess on Sunday, his coach Grzegorz Gajewski was asked what it would mean to the Indian for the remainder of the tournament. 'Well,' Gajewski said, 'hopefully we can break another unbreakable Arjun.' The world champion sure did. In similar style to boot, albeit not nearly as startlingly. Gukesh beat Arjun Erigaisi in Round 7 of Norway Chess to earn his first classic victory over his compatriot who, as Gajewski described, is a 'very unpleasant opponent' for the world champion. In scripting back-to-back firsts against Carlsen and Erigaisi, the 19-year-old also flipped the script on the two men who had dragged him to defeats in his first two games, raising more questions about Gukesh's form and confidence. Accepting a big bar of chocolate from a fan after his win on Tuesday night seemed appropriate, the sour beginning has indeed sweetened. Gukesh's position in both the victories however was anything but sweet. The great escape against the world No.1 was almost surreal, and Gukesh arrived for his clash against Erigaisi after all the other games had begun. After his belated first move 'nothing went my way', Gukesh summed up later. Digging into a weak position, Gukesh hung on until Erigaisi let the advantage slip. And then in the endgame littered with mistakes, Gukesh sprang up. 'I was just losing at some point, was slowly getting outplayed,' Gukesh said. 'But once I got to this position, I had to keep making moves that don't lose on the spot. Then in the time scramble, things happen.' They sure have for him in this coastal city because Gukesh has, even in extreme adversity in the last two games, refused to throw in the towel. The fighter in him has the shades of a younger Norwegian. A young Magnus, as Gajewski recalled speaking to Indian media here, 'kept playing those little bit better positions' in testing situations. 'I don't even experience him (Carlsen) having so many lost positions that he kept fighting in, but he was definitely a fighter,' he said. Gukesh has shown similar qualities, certainly in his last couple of games where he has demanded precision from his opponent in converting a winning position to a win. 'And if you're not up to it, you might mess up the position. Even if you're No.1 in the world,' Gajewski said. Those two traits combined have defined Gukesh's resurgence over the last couple of days. For Gajewski, the fighting spirit isn't the most extraordinary aspect of it. 'In the sense, everyone here is a fighter,' he said. 'Simply, Gukesh has extraordinary calculation abilities, which, combined with his fighting spirit, help him defend so many positions.' The two games have, in a way, been a microcosm of Gukesh's time in Stavanger so far. As the world champion coming in with form under a cloud, the opening two defeats had made things gloomier for Gukesh. He found some light when he beat Hikaru Nakamura in classical and Fabiano Caruana in armageddon before the last two wins brightened his place in the leaderboard to second (1 point behind Caruana, 0.5 above Carlsen) from down among the last. What got him up, ironically, was a release of pressure after a stressful start. 'Your hopes kind of go down, your adrenalin goes down. And you feel relaxed, because all your tension is suddenly gone. It's like you're already lost,' Gajewski said. 'And then, the next games are much easier because you don't feel the pressure you felt in the beginning.' Gukesh, make no mistake, did feel the pressure, even more so after 'an unsuccessful tournament in Bucharest', as the Polish GM said. The coach doesn't wish to read too much into Gukesh's recent results in freestyle events, but last month's Superbet Classic where Gukesh finished one point above the bottom place was a 'difficult' outcome that jumbled his mind. The slow start here could've further complicated the puzzling thoughts. But, unlike the Stavanger weather, Gukesh ensured things cleared up in time. 'That's a very big success, regardless of how the tournament ends,' Gajewski said. 'This is a very nice thing to achieve for him because from now in every tournament, if he starts badly, he will know that it doesn't necessarily have to be a bad tournament.'
