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New Indian Express
a day ago
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Mental toughness and will to win powered Divya Deshmukh, feels chess legend Susan Polgar
Susan, who was the women's world chess champion from 1996 to 1999, acknowledged that Indian chess is riding a wave of success and saw a bright future for the sport in the country with legends like Viswanathan Anand guiding the new generation of players. "When Gukesh became a Grandmaster at 12, he was not the highest rated among the top Indian prospects," she said. "But I immediately picked him to go the furthest. Some (people) thought I was crazy to make such a prediction. But as a coach who trained and worked with over 50 GMs, including a number around 2700 and way above, I saw the incredible intangible qualities in him. " "Same with Divya. Even though she is not the highest rated female player in India, she also has the intangible qualities. These youngsters are fearless, and they have incredibly strong will to win. That makes up for some of the current deficiencies in their games, which I hope they will continue to improve with more training and experience." Susan termed this as a "golden age" for Indian chess which has a huge talent pool and qualified mentors. "This is the Golden Age of Chess in India. What is even more special is they are all homegrown and they respect and support each other. With the continued support from the government (national, regional as well as local) and sponsors, India will be at the top for a long time. There are many wonderful and caring coaches who played a big role in developing these youngsters, in addition to the mentorship from Anand. The future of chess in India is very bright." Susan, who became the top-ranked female player at the age of 15 on FIDE's Elo rating list of July 1984, has urged the likes of Gukesh and Divya to keep working on their game as competition is going to get stronger. "Just as what I would say to Gukesh. Don't stop. It is like a moving train. Ride the momentum and do not slow down. Train harder and work on improving all areas of weaknesses. There will always be players who will be more it will be much harder once you slow down," she said. "Divya is no longer just an up-and-coming player. She is now a World Cup champion. She will have a bulls eye on her back. Others are coming for her. Continue to train, train, and train harder." Susan, one half of the legendary Polgar sisters (the other being Judit), also had words of encouragement for India No.1 Humpy. "Humpy is a phenomenal player. I have a lot of respect for her. She has been near the top for many years. But things are tougher with age and motherhood. She got through many tough hurdles in this Women's World Cup. But yesterday (Monday) was Divya's day. That is life. But Humpy will have her moments again and I wish her the best."
Time of India
a day ago
- Sport
- Time of India
From no norms to Grandmaster: Divya Deshmukh becomes India's 88th GM and fourth among Indian women
Divya Deshmukh (Image via X/@ChessbaseIndia) Nagpur's International Master (IM) Divya Deshmukh took the shortest but strongest route to a Grandmaster (GM) title. With an emphatic World Cup triumph in Batumi, the 19-year-old became India's 88th Grandmaster on Monday. The Grandmaster title is one of the toughest achievements in chess. To secure the top title awarded by the world chess federation (FIDE), a player needs to earn three GM norms from FIDE-approved tournaments and cross the rating of 2500 Elo. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Mostly, players achieve the norms to get the title. Divya cleared the rating criteria when she registered a peak rating of 2501 in October 2024. While Divya was trying hard to get the three norms, she came very close but missed it in many tournaments by a whisker. Her first norm came when she qualified for the World Cup final in Batumi. As per the FIDE rules, winners of certain elite competitions can avoid the usual norm-and-rating route and can become GMs directly. The Women's World Cup was one such event, and Divya earned the GM title by becoming the youngest World Cup winner. On achieving her childhood dream, Divya said, 'I think it is fate, getting the Grandmaster title this way, because I didn't even have one norm before coming to the World Cup. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas Prices In Dubai Might Be More Affordable Than You Think Villas In Dubai | Search Ads Get Quote Undo And all I was thinking of was 'Oh, when can I get my norm,' and now I have a crown and Grandmaster title too.' Congratulating Divya on X, World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura said, 'Huge congratulations Divya for both winning the Women's World Cup but also going from no-norms to the GM title in one big jump! Indian chess is knocking it out of the park these days.' Poll What do you think is the most impressive aspect of Divya Deshmukh's journey to becoming a Grandmaster? Winning the Women's World Cup Achieving the title at such a young age Her consistent performances Three years after she started playing chess, Divya became the youngest Woman FIDE Master (WFM) in 2013. Five years later, she achieved the Woman International Master (WIM) title and in 2021 became the WGM. In 2023, Divya earned her highest title, International Master (IM). Divya's inspiring performance took her live ranking to 15th in the world with 2478 Elo points. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Humpy or Divya – whoever wins will pocket $50,000, as compared to Open section World Cups rewarding $1,10,000 to champion
Either Koneru Humpy or Divya Deshmukh will earn, amongst other things like Elo ranking points, a prize cheque of $50,000 for winning the ongoing FIDE World Cup for women in Georgia. The coastal host city is beautiful with it's lovely food and cheese, and known for its chess mad populace, has seen the emergence of women's chess stars from India who both made final beating Chinese opponents. However, a pay disparity is their reality. Prize money for winner at FIDE World Cup (for open section – both men and women allowed) is $1,10,000. For the women's World Cup winner, it's $50,000 which is less than half, though both sets of tournaments are organised by FIDE. Chess remains far from pay parity for both events, and it can only be speculated how this gets justified. Typically, while an open World Cup has over 200 players, women's world cup might have just over 100 players. The women's only event resultantly witnesses one less round. The prize money at the 2023 World Cup, where R Praggnanandhaa lost to Magnus Carlsen in the final, saw the Norwegian pocket $1,10,000. However, the time control for both World Cups is the same. And unlike tennis – which too adopted pay parity – both sets of players in open and women's spend the same time. The time control for each game shall be: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1, as per FIDE rules. While women can play in the open World Cup if they qualify, many choose not to. At the open World Cup that will be hosted at Goa, women's World champion Ju Wenjun has a spot guaranteed because she is the women's world champion. However it remains to be seen if she will opt to travel and contend. The pay disparity can be gauged from these numbers – the total prize fund for FIDE World Cup (Open) in 2023 was USD 1,834,000 while total prize fund for FIDE Women's World Cup in 2023 and 2025 combined was USD 676,250, less than a third of the open events. Chinese star Ju Wenjun earned €300,000 ($ 403,080) after winning Women's World Championship this year while runner up Tan Zhongyi took home €200,000 ($ 268,720) for losing the world championship. In comparison, Gukesh earned $1,350,000 and Ding Liren took $1,150,000. The open winner (always men) take home three times more the dough than the women. At the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 edition, where open and women's events will happen side by side, the prize fund has been set at one million euros. The total will be split between the Open and Women's events, with €700,000 allocated to the Open section — evenly divided between the Rapid and Blitz tournaments — and €300,000 for the Women's section, also split equally.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
R. Praggnanandhaa summons his best and shows why Magnus Carlsen sees a lot of himself in the Indian
In the latest World rankings released by FIDE, three of the top 10 are from India. The only other country that has more than one player in that list, published at the beginning of the month by the world chess governing body, is the United States, which has two. R. Praggnanandhaa is ranked fourth, making him the highest ranked Indian; he is followed in fifth and sixth places by Arjun Erigaisi and D. Gukesh, respectively. It is the first time that the 19-year-old from Chennai is the India No. 1. Not a big deal Not that he considers it a big deal. 'I am just [three points] ahead [of Arjun and Gukesh],' he stressed while talking to The Hindu recently over the phone from Zagreb, one of several international cities he has been crisscrossing through of late. He, however, admits he is rather happy with the way he has been playing over the last few months. His current Elo rating also reflects that happiness. It is his career-best — 2779. ALSO READ | Meet Eugene Torre, the pioneering Asian GM who beat Karpov and befriended Fischer He truly seems to have pushed past the disappointments of 2024, which wasn't a great year for him, especially by the high standard he has set himself. Yes, he did play his part in India's stunning triumph at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, but he wasn't as consistent last year as he would have liked. This year, though, he has been playing quite superb chess, some of the best in his career. He has already won three important classical tournaments, including the prestigious Tata Steel at Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. 'It was a very important win for me because I was coming from not a great 2024,' says Praggnanandhaa. 'I had finished the previous year missing a medal at the World Rapid Championship; I was so close. I lost a game from a winning position in the penultimate round. So coming from that, starting the year with such a win certainly gives you confidence.' And Wijk aan Zee was one event he always wanted to win, from the time he was a kid. 'It has so much history, of 87 years, and it was won in the past by several World champions,' he says. 'So winning that tournament was very special for me.' He followed it up by winning the Superbet Chess Classic in Romania and the UzChess Cup in Uzbekistan. 'Tashkent was special because I wasn't thinking about winning it till the last couple of rounds,' he reveals. 'I was one and a half points behind the leader, and it didn't look like I had much of a chance, but things went my way. I managed to take my chances, against Arjun and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, two of the strongest players in the world right now. Then suddenly, I was in the tiebreakers, and I won.' ALSO READ | Should chess be an Olympic sport? In Romania, too, it was through the tiebreakers that he emerged as the champion, overcoming challenges from Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. And it was his maiden title on the Grand Chess Tour. 'Yes, this is one of the best phases of my career,' says Praggnanandhaa. 'I have tried to change a few things about my game, and they have gone my way. I am much more confident and I push myself more in those critical games.' Handling time pressure He is also happy with the way he has handled the tiebreakers. 'I needed to push myself in those games and I was able to do that,' he says. 'They are blitz games and they go down to these few seconds, which can go any way. I did need some luck in some of those games, but pushing myself certainly helped.' He is hoping to continue his form for the rest of the year, which has many major tournaments coming up, including the FIDE Grand Swiss, the Sinquefield Cup and the World Cup, which India will host. 'It is nice that the World Cup is being held in India,' he says. 'It will be an exciting event as there is a lot of interest in India in chess, and people can get to watch such a big tournament. And I am also excited to play the World Cup in India.' Praggnanandhaa is, of course, not going to be the only serious contender from India. He says being part of a group of strong Indian players definitely helps. 'I was following Gukesh's World Championship match in Singapore and his victory over Ding Liren was exciting,' he says. 'Arjun crossing the 2800 mark in Elo rating was also inspiring. With our performances, we all motivate each other. And it is nice to see other young Indian players are also doing well. Nihal Sarin is now playing more classical events, and he is winning tournaments too. And there is Aravindh Chithambaram, too.' ALSO READ | FIDE confirms World Cup in India, host city yet to be announced Gukesh, Nihal, Arjun and Praggnanandhaa have benefited from significant support from corporates. 'Sponsorship is very important,' he says. 'You have to travel a lot for tournaments, and training, too. And these things are not easy, and are expensive. 'For instance, when I prepared for the Candidates tournament, I needed to have a team and have training camps in person. All that requires financial support. I have been fortunate that Adani Group has been supporting me in a huge way. And they were there even when I was not having a good time last year. They were there supporting me throughout.' He is encouraged by the fact that more corporates in India are investing in chess. 'And we need more strong events like the Chennai Grandmasters,' he says. 'I don't mind playing anywhere but playing in India is always special to me.' Praggnanandhaa is also happy to find chess becoming even more mainstream. He will feature in the Esports World Cup, where chess will make its debut on July 29. He has joined Team Liquid, which boasts World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and No. 3 Fabiano Caruana. The Magnus effect He says he is really glad to be part of that team. Carlsen, the five-time World champion from Norway, has often spoken highly of him, and the Indian has scored some memorable wins against the all-time great over the last few years. Last week in Las Vegas, in fact, he beat Carlsen twice inside four days at the Freestyle Grand Slam. During the live stream of that event, Carlsen's wife Ella Victoria made an interesting remark while talking about Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Arjun. 'Magnus did say that Pragg plays the most similar to him,' she said. High praise indeed.
Time Magazine
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Magnus Carlsen Beats ChatGPT in Chess Without Losing a Piece
The world's top chess player defeated ChatGPT in an online match in only 53 moves. Magnus Carlsen won the game without losing a single piece, while ChatGPT lost all its pawns, screenshots the Norwegian grandmaster shared on X showed. ChatGPT resigned the match. 'I sometimes get bored while travelling,' Carlsen captioned the post. 'That was methodical, clean, and sharp. Well played!' ChatGPT said to him, according to the screenshots Carlsen posted. Carlsen told the AI bot that he thought it 'played really well in the opening,' but ultimately 'failed to follow it up correctly.' He went on to ask ChatGPT for feedback on his performance. 'Your play showed several strong traits,' ChatGPT told him. It complimented him for his opening, patience, tactical awareness, and endgame technique. It estimated his classical strength to be around 1800-2000 FIDE or USCF, though the AI bot acknowledged it could be higher. Both FIDE and USCF ratings calculate chess players' skill levels based on their performance in official tournaments using the Elo rating system, which takes into account the outcomes of matches and the rating of each player going in. Under the system, matches with unexpected results—such as those in which lower-ranked players defeat higher-ranked ones—have a greater impact on players' ratings. FIDE ratings are managed by global chess's governing body, the International Chess Federation (FIDE), and USCF ratings by the United States Chess Federation. Carlsen's actual FIDE rating is 2839, making him the top-rated player in the world. Carlsen is widely considered to be the best chess player in history. The 34-year-old has won the World Chess Championship five times, most recently in 2021. He has not competed in the championship since then, previously saying, 'I don't have any inclination to play" in it.
