Latest news with #Chess960
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
D Gukesh responds to Magnus Carlsen's angry table slam reaction with a pinch of salt: ‘It's not only about the moves…'
Magnus Carlsen recently caused controversy when he took on D Gukesh in Round 6 of the ongoing Norway Chess 2025. The pair had met earlier in the campaign opener and Carlsen won that encounter. When they were paired again in Round 6, Carlsen was once again edging closer to a win, but a massive blunder in the end game saw Gukesh stage a comeback, and seal a shock win. It was also his maiden classical win vs Carlsen. The defeat also saw Carlsen slam his table in anger, as the pieces fell off. Meanwhile, Carlsen also shook hands with Gukesh, and also patted his back, while leaving the venue. Reacting to Carlsen's table slam moment, Gukesh told Take Take Take, 'It's not only about the moves; some people get attracted to the emotions, and all the memes and stuff really help. I'm glad I could contribute.' Meanwhile, even Viswanathan Anand justified Carlsen's reaction recently. Speaking to PTI, he said, 'But it (beating Gukesh) mattered a lot to him. Even if all the other games he's kind of going through emotions (here) But in this game (against Gukesh), I think something he wanted to establish. He wanted to draw some line in the sand and tell all these kids 'hang on a few years', whatever. But this meant a lot. I think a 2-0 (win against Gukesh) here, he would have been very, very happy.' 'Against any opponent on earth, he would have hated losing such a good position. I mean to miss that the knight comes back. I felt exactly the same way when I blew my game against Magnus three years ago in 2022 in Norway,' he added. Meanwhile, Carlsen has also hinted that he could totally retire from classical chess, revealing that he doesn't find it fun anymore. The Norwegian has been lately focussing more on short formats and Chess960.
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First Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- First Post
D Gukesh 'shocked' to hear Magnus Carlsen thinking about quitting Classical chess: 'Did not see that coming'
World No 1 Magnus Carlsen had hinted at quitting Classical chess, a format he has been critical of in recent months, following his stunning defeat at the hands of reigning world champion D Gukesh in their sixth-round meeting at Norway Chess. read more D Gukesh had defeated Magnus Carlsen for the first time in his career in Round 6 of the ongoing Norway Chess in Stavanger, Norway. Image credit: Michal Walusza/Norway Chess Magnus Carlsen has caused quite the stir in the chess world by hinting at quitting the Classical format altogether , which has 'shocked' reigning world champion D Gukesh and taken many others at surprise. Carlsen made the statement following a stunning defeat against Gukesh in the sixth round of the ongoing Norway Chess last week, in which the five-time world champion resigned in 62 moves shortly after committing a blunder. 'Bit sad for others, but it is his decision' 'I did not see that coming. Kind of shocked. Oh, okay, I don't know. It is interesting that he has announced it now. He has been pretty clear about not wanting to play classical. It is a bit sad for the others, but it is his decision,' Gukesh said in an interview with the broadcasters of the event that is taking place in Stavanger, Norway. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Carlsen, who has been the world No 1 in Classical chess since 2011, has been critical of the format for months now with his energy primarily focused on the Freestyle Chess, a.k.a. Chess960, as well as the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour that got underway in February and has events running till December. And while he had been held to a draw by world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura and Chinese Grandmaster Wei Yi earlier in the tournament, it was after his defeat against Gukesh that Carlsen got even more serious about bidding Standard chess goodbye once and for all. 'I think I'll play the last three games (in Norway Chess), and then I will have to make some decisions about next year here or potential other tournaments later, because, yeah, I just don't enjoy (classical chess) that much,' Carlsen, who currently occupies the second spot on the Norway Chess standings with two rounds to go, had said after his loss against Gukesh. Watch | Magnus Carlsen slams table in frustration after losing to D Gukesh, skips media duties Carlsen had defeated Gukesh in 55 moves in the opening round on 26 May to begin his title defence at Norway Chess with a bang. It was Gukesh's first meeting with the 34-year-old Norwegian since being crowned world champion in December. Gukesh, who had started off with back-to-back defeats against Carlsen and compatriot Arjun Erigaisi, bounced back in style a week later, grinding his way to a hard-fought victory after the home favourite found himself in a dominant position at one stage. Action resumes in Stavanger on Thursday following the second and final 'Rest Day', with Carlsen facing current leader Fabiano Caruana and Arjun in the last two rounds. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Gukesh, who is joint-third with Nakamura on 11.5 points, faces Wei in Round 9 before ending his campaign against Caruana, whom he had beaten in the Armageddon playoff earlier after playing out a draw in the Classical game.
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First Post
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
‘The missing piece is how it's presented': Behind ‘Checkmate: USA vs India' plan to shake up the chess scene
In an exclusive interaction with Firstpost, Salim Belcadi of Checkmate Strategic Ventures explains how the upcoming 'Checkmate: USA vs India' event aims to reimagine chess as a global sport and bring it into the mainstream. read more The upcoming 'Checkmate: USA vs India' event will be headlined by the showdown between D Gukesh and Hikaru Nakamura. Image credit: FIDE/Michal Walusza There have been attempts to revamp the game of chess as we know it and try and make it more popular among the younger crowd. While Standard, or Classical, chess remains the cornerstone of the board game that has had international tournaments in existence for nearly two centuries, faster formats such as rapid and blitz have been gaining popularity all over the world, which might have something to do with the ever-decreasing attention spans of the social media generation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Newer versions such as Freestyle Chess, a.k.a. Chess960, have attempted to reinvent the board game by introducing an element of unpredictability, and the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour that is currently underway is attempting to spread the format's popularity across the globe. Despite all the changes that chess has gone through over the years with the introduction of faster and unique formats, chess largely remains a niche sport. What drives home that fact is how chess hasn't been able to garner enough interest for it to appear on television sets, which is where the masses still are. After all, the live coverage of some of the world's biggest events including the FIDE World Championship, Candidates Tournament and more is still limited to online streaming on platforms such as YouTube and Reimagining chess as a global sport The organisers of ' Checkmate: USA vs India ', however, intend to change that perception when they host a showdown between two of the strongest chess federations in the latest FIDE 'Open' Ratings against each other at Arlington in the state of Texas, USA in October. 'The idea for Checkmate started taking shape in late 2023. We asked ourselves: what if we re-imagined chess as a global sport, with the drama of boxing and the team identity of soccer? That was the spark. With India and the USA leading the global chess scene, the matchup felt inevitable. We just made it real,' Salim Belcadi of Checkmate Strategic Ventures told Firstpost in an exclusive interaction on the upcoming event. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'What makes this event different is its design: a high-stakes, fan-friendly and broadcast-ready showdown. Every game has a winner, with patriotism as a narrative. The atmosphere will be electric: national anthems, walkouts, crowd energy, and real-time graphics powered by tech. Its goal is to appeal to both casual and serious chess players. In short, it's chess built for the spotlight,' he added. The event that is headlined by a showdown between reigning world champion D Gukesh and world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura also includes an equally mouth-watering battle between Arjun Erigaisi and Fabiano Caruana – ranked fourth and fifth in the Classical ratings. 'Checkmate' thus features four of the world's top five players on the FIDE Standard Ratings, making it an event that is comparable with Norway Chess and other events with equally strong lineups. The five-board team match also witnesses 21-year-old Carissa Yip battle it out against Divya Deshmukh, the world's highest-rated female player under 21 and a couple of 14-year-olds Tani Adewumi and Ethan Vaz. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And that's not all – the one of a kind event also pits two of the most popular streamers in the chess world – Levy Rozman, a.k.a. GothamChess and Sagar Shah, both of whom happen to be International Masters. THE MATCH IS ON! Checkmate: USA vs India 📅 October 4, 2025 🏟️ Esports Stadium Arlington, Texas, 2500 seats! 🌍 Global broadcast 🎙️ Commentary, spectacle, intensity ♟️ 5 boards. 4 categories. Only one winner. 🔥 Lineup: • Hikaru Nakamura (USA World #2) vs Gukesh Dommaraju (World… — checkmate SV (@checkmate_SV) May 1, 2025 And unlike Classical matches that follow a 90+30 time control, the 'Checkmate' event will feature 10-minute games – which will be followed by a 5-minute Overtime Game and 1-minute Shootout Games until there is a winner in the event of a draw. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Belcadi reveals the organisers were met with a positive response from Nakamura, Gukesh and the other players when approached with the idea. 'We approached all the players a couple of months ago with a clear concept: this event isn't about ratings, it's about categories, stories, and showmanship. Their response was unanimously positive. 'They saw that this was professional, respectful of the game, and designed to promote chess in a new light. None of the players hesitated, in fact, many offered advice and encouragement. We're grateful for the openness and trust they showed us,' Belcadi added. Belcadi goes on to add that chess already has a following in millions, but lacks the presentation for it to become a mainstream sport, something that Checkmate Strategic Ventures intends to achieve with the upcoming event. 'The global chess audience is already there: millions follow it online, and many are new to the game. We feel the missing piece is how it's presented. With the right format, pacing, and storytelling, chess can become a mainstream sport. That's the goal of Checkmate SV, to bridge the gap between competitive chess and mass entertainment,' Belcadi said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Emphasising on home advantage 'Home advantage' is an integral part of sport, especially team events, and it is this factor that helps add context to a game and adds the spice needed to make things more interesting. The presence of legion of cheering supporters provides the mental boost to teams or individuals playing on home turf, which can be the difference between victory and defeat at times. More tangible factors such as weather and soil type can also influence the outcome of a game, especially in sports such as cricket. The organisers are expecting a sold-out affair at the 2,500-capacity Esports Stadium, which will be hosting the event in the 'Lone Star State', with a vast majority of those in attendance likely to chant 'USA! USA!' come 4 October. That, however, is by no means all as far as the home advantage factor is concerned. What makes this team event unique is the fact that the Americans will be playing with white pieces in all games. The 'marginal edge' – as the organisers put it – will be extended to the Indians when the return match takes place in their backyard. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 2,500-capacity Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas will be hosting the 'Checkmate: USA vs India' event on 4 October. AFP 'Home advantage is important in our concept, and the home team will play with white to give them a marginal edge. We are planning a return match in India, where this advantage will swap sides,' Belcadi said. Belcadi goes on to add that India are a world-class team with top names such as Gukesh, Arjun and Divya, who have held their own in high-pressure situations and are expected to put up a tough fight despite the advantage that their opponents enjoy. 'On October 4th, there will be crowd support for Team USA, and the venue, Esports Stadium Arlington, is massive for a chess event. But this is a world-class Indian team, and most players have shown nerves of steel in high-stakes events. We doubt they will feel the pressure now. 'Also, the pairings are very balanced by design, and the format fast. Therefore, despite the marginal edge, we think it'll come down to performance over atmosphere. We strongly believe every round will be competitive.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'India's rise as a chess powerhouse one of the most inspiring stories' Belcadi goes on to hail India's rise in the world of chess, especially in the year 2024 in which it completed a historic golden sweep at the Chess Olympiad , Gukesh emerged as the youngest champion in the Candidates as well as the World Championship and Arjun became only the second Indian to breach the 2800-rating barrier. 'India's rise as a chess powerhouse is one of the most inspiring stories in recent sports. India's new generation led by Gukesh, Arjun, Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali, Divya, and others isn't just talented. They're fearless and conquering. 'What's even more remarkable is that many of them are still in school. And behind them is a powerful ecosystem of coaches, federations, and platforms like ChessBase India. India is no longer the future of chess, it's the present,' Belcadi said. Also Read | Nakamura heaps praise on India's chess ecosystem: 'Everything is the way it should be' As for the crux of the upcoming event – USA vs India – Belcadi felt this was the right match-up for the 'Checkmate' event to make its debut with, but has room to 'travel and adapt' in the years to come. 'The USA vs India matchup was the right one to launch with — it reflects where the excitement and momentum are today. But we built this with scalability in mind. The format can travel and adapt. That's the beauty of the team-based, round-by-round format: it invites creativity.' Checkmate Strategic Ventures views this event as one that has the potential to become a 'recurring global property' that is also commercially viable from the entertainment perspective. 'This event is a proof of concept. In the short term, the goal is to deliver an unforgettable live experience and a format that proves chess can entertain like other sports. In the long term, Checkmate SV is a platform. 'We see it becoming a recurring global property delivering high stakes events and high production. We want to give fans a reason to show up, sponsors a reason to invest, and players a new kind of stage to shine on. 'The bigger picture is to create a chess product that is commercially viable as an entertainment sport. At the same time, we want to preserve the depth and quality of the game we love,' Belcadi signed off.
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First Post
18-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Magnus Carlsen on whether D Gukesh is a worthy world chess champion or not: 'He's done incredibly well...'
India's D Gukesh had become the youngest world champion in the history of chess, breaking the record previously held by the legendary Garry Kasparov, after defeating Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren in Singapore in December. read more World No 1 Magnus Carlsen did not sound too keen on his upcoming showdown against reigning world chess champion D Gukesh at Norway Chess that gets underway later this month. The Norwegian, after all, has been vocal about his disinterest for Classical chess and has been channeling his efforts into promoting Freestyle Chess, a.k.a. Chess960, as well as the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour that he is a co-founder of. However, when it came to the subject of Gukesh's reign as the world champion, Carlsen did not doubt the fact that the 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster had earned what remains chess' most prestigious title with his stellar performances last year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Carlsen hails Gukesh as a 'worthy champion' The 34-year-old chess icon went to the extent of singling out his run at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest last year as 'one of the all-time best performances'. 'He won the Candidates ahead of a field of world beaters and he's done incredibly well in Classical chess in the last couple of years, including one of the all-time best performances in the Olympiad,' Carlsen said in an interview on the Take Take Take chess app. So, is he the best player in the world? Remains to be seen. But is he a worthy world champion by what we measure that as? Yeah, I think he certainly is," added Carlsen, who had voluntarily decided against defending his world title in 2022. Gukesh had become the youngest world champion in the history of the sport, breaking the record previously held by Russian legend Garry Kasparov after defeating Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 in the 'Best of 14 Classical Games' showdown that took place in Singapore between November and December. The Chennai lad had also become the youngest winner in the history of the Candidates Tournament after finishing on top of the standings ahead of a packed field that comprised leading names including Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. A few months later, Gukesh would play a starring role in the historic Chess Olympiad campaign, in which the Indian contingent won gold in the 'Open' as well as 'Women' categories.
Indian Express
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
What happened in Budapest when Susan Polgar helped Bobby Fischer finalise rules of a radical new format? Endgame was Freestyle Chess
Bobby Fischer and Susan Polgar, two of the most iconic figures of chess, might remember Budapest differently. But speaking about her just-released book, Rebel Queen, to the eldest Polgar genius recounted how Fischer brainstormed with her on his initial ideas on the revolutionary format, even as Freestyle Chess, known essentially as Fischer Random or Chess960 came into being. Susan Polgar's memoir delves into several topics, but hitherto little known was how she persuaded Fischer, back then in hiding from American agencies after the Boris Spassky rematch, to move to Budapest. Susan told 'That was quite fascinating that after his match, he was kind of in hiding in a little town just across the Hungarian-Yugoslav border. And to my biggest surprise, at one moment when I happened to be in Peru, as I later learned, one of our mutual friends reached out to my family to come to visit. And my parents and my sisters went to visit, and the meeting went well, but he was complaining about how I didn't join them.' When she got to know he was keen on meeting the pioneer, and she had returned in May 1993, Susan was thrilled that the legendary Bobby Fischer wanted to meet her. Though nobody knew where exactly he was in hiding, Susan would drive out to Yugoslavia, and the two chess whizzes would hit it off well. 'He was already fascinated by Fischer Random, and we played our very first game in Fischer Random there,' she told 'Seeing how he was living at the time in this small hotel room, I was just throwing up the idea that 'Why don't you move to Budapest, you know, you'd have a lot more things to do. Because we have plenty of nice restaurants, cinemas, spas, you know, I would be happy to help you around. Especially in the beginning, you may have other friends like Pal Benko or Lajos Portisch,' quoted Polgar as saying. She would narrate that he was intrigued byvthe idea, and asked her, 'Do you think I could?' 'And obviously implying that he was going against the U.S. government, and Interpol was perhaps looking for him.' The rematch with Spassky was not to the liking of the American establishment, though Spassky and Fischer loved dusting off their brains, and playing again. Polgar would test the waters at border control in a hilarious way. 'So when I was driving back from that first visit to Yugoslavia, meeting him, on the border, I asked the border control guy, 'What would happen if I had a gentleman by the name Robert James Fisher sitting with me in the car?' And he looked at me, not understanding the question, 'What would there be? Does he have a valid passport?' I said, 'Yes, he does.' 'Well, then what would be? He would go across the border with you. Nothing would happen,' she told She would send a message to the mutual friend, and Fischer would pack up and move to Budapest along with his bodyguard and Eugene Torre, who had been his companion for some time back in those days. 'And he stayed in Budapest for around eight years,' she recalled. In those early weeks and months, she saw him nearly every day, showed him around. She would recall to 'We had countless dinners. And along those ways, those dinners and conversations, we discussed in great detail and experimented with Fischer Random, which eventually turned out to be Chess960.' In those meetings, the freestyle format would be tweaked. 'I helped him finalise the rules, which initially were quite different from what people play today, in that first, only the eight pawns would be on the board. And then the mandatory first eight moves of the game would be to set all the pieces up one by one, not necessarily symmetrically. And only after that, the game, the moves, as we know them in traditional chess, would start. And so we played many games and debated, discussed, you know, should there be bishops on opposite colors squares starting, should castling be allowed, and long story short, after many games we concluded that maybe it would be more harmony to the game to maintain as much as possible of the rules of traditional chess.' Polgar recalled Fischer then reached out to mathematicians trying to find out how many starting positions would there be possible if the starting positions wwre restricted to having bishops on opposite color squares as starting positions, the kings in between the rooks, as well, and maintaining the rights to castle, as well as making sure the pieces are set up symmetrically as well. 'So, as we learned at the time, it turned out to be that there are still 960 different starting positions possible. And since the whole purpose of trying to create this chess variant was to eliminate the opening theories that have been developed, even by the early 90s to his opinion, far too much and taking away too much of the essence of chess, as of two intellectuals trying to outsmart each other or out-strategize each other, he was happy and content that there is no way any human can analyze all 960 starting positions, let alone remember those analyses,' she told Susan Polgar herself took deep interest in endgames, not too fussed over openings. But back then with Fischer in Budapest, Chess960 crystallised. 'And I'm personally very happy that today there are very significant efforts and tournaments being played with exactly the rules that Bobby and I settled on back in around 1993-94. I think it's a great alternative to traditional chess as we know it,' she told
