Latest news with #FIDECircuit
Al Etihad
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Al Etihad
Dutchman Giri makes Sharjah chess history in winning title
27 May 2025 00:48 KUUMAR SHYAM (SHARJAH)Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri made history in the UAE by becoming the first European to win the prestigious Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship. Giri clinched the title with an impressive seven out of nine points, edging out Serbian GM Aleksandar Indjic and Uzbek prodigy Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who both finished with 6.5 eighth staging of the tournament, held at the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club, attracted over 350 players from 60 countries, with Giri taking home the winner's cheque of $15,000. The champion of Indian origin gained 20.94 FIDE Circuit points, taking him up to third place behind GMs Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Ding Liren in the race for a 2026 FIDE Candidates championship spot, and 10.3 rating points, which has seen him vault to world No.12 from 23rd position on the rating the closing ceremony, Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, UAE Minister of Sports, underscored the significance of the event. Dr. Al Falasi said: 'This tournament has solidified its status as a global platform attracting world champions and offering emerging talents the opportunity to gain experience and learn diverse playing styles at the highest levels.'Giri's victory adds to his illustrious career, which includes five Dutch national titles and a peak world ranking of No. 3. In a recent interview, Giri reflected on the evolving landscape of chess, noting the increasing prominence of younger players and the impact of technological advancements on the game. He observed: 'Chess has changed a lot. There's been progress. Technological progress. The engines have gotten so much stronger... Now, with neural networks, computers have gained intuition, and you can just learn from them.'In his own minor way, to innovate and find ways to win the tournament, Giri caused a stir when he drew with GM Velimi Ivic after just four moves by each player in the penultimate round. After a solid draw in the earlier round to navigate the main threat, the top seed and Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Giri made the quick draw 'as part of a deep strategic' thought without elaborating. It was obvious though that he went for broke in preparing for a final-round push against Indian GM Aditya Mittal to score the win, which he did, going into the round at the start of the day as joint leader with other big winner of the event was Bibisara Assaubayeva, who survived two crazy final draws to become only the 43rd woman to earn the grandmaster title. International Master Faustino Oro's bid to become the youngest player ever to earn a GM norm fell just short, after the 11-year-old lost his final two games. The championship also celebrated achievements beyond the main event, including the announcement of the winners of the Arab Chess Federation's Translation and Composition Award. Dignitaries such as Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Hamid Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club and President of the Arab Chess Federation, and Essa Hilal Al Hazami, Chairman of the Sharjah Sports Council, were present to honour the participants and organisers.
Hans India
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
World Champ Gukesh reaches Norway; calls face-off with Magnus Carlsen as ‘fun challenge'
The youngest world chess champion-ever Gukesh Dommaraju arrived in Stavanger on Saturday for the most-awaited contest of the year at the Norway Chess 2025, scheduled to begin on Monday here at the Sparebank 1 Sor-Norge headquarters. For the first time since he was crowned the world chess champion, after beating Ding Liren in a best-of-14-game match in Singapore last year, the 18-year-old will face off against World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in the classical format. Speaking about taking on the Norwegian icon Carlsen in his backyard, Gukesh said, 'I feel great being here (in Stavanger). I've had good memories of Norway. I am sure playing Magnus here in a classical game will be a fun challenge. Also, for the spectators, it is about the world champion versus the No.1 player in the world. It surely sounds very exciting, so it's surely something I am very happy to give to myself and the chess fans. And I hope it will be a treat.' The last time Gukesh participated in Norway Chess was in 2023, where he finished third, securing the crucial FIDE Circuit points needed to qualify for the 2024 Candidates Tournament. This achievement made him the third-youngest player in history to qualify for a Candidates tournament, following in the footsteps of Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen. By August 2023, Gukesh shattered another record, becoming the youngest player ever to achieve a rating of 2750. A month later, in September 2023, he surpassed Viswanathan Anand as India's top-ranked player, marking the first time in 37 years that someone other than Anand held this distinction. He was on song in 2024, starting the year with a first-place finish at the Tata Steel Masters in January, and dominated the Candidates Tournament, securing his spot in the World Chess Championship match. At the Olympiad, he led Team India to gold while earning an individual gold medal on board one with an outstanding performance. Elaborating on keeping up with the expectations, particularly after his recent success, Gukesh said, 'It is a new level. But when I see it as a challenge to prove to myself that I can handle this. Even though the expectations are high, I can meet them if I keep working hard and doing my best.' Among the challenges in a classical game, Gukesh feels one of the things to be wary of is fighting his own thoughts. 'In a classical game, you end up playing for five hours, and those are the times you cannot be fully thinking about the game. I think there are random thoughts that come into our minds, but the important thing is to stay in the game and come back to those thoughts later. This is the purpose of the note that you're making. And you can't afford to allow weak moments,' he explained. The draw for the Norway Chess 2025 and Norway Chess Women 2025 will be held later in the day. India's Arjun Erigaisi will also feature in the Norway Chess which will have one of the strongest line-up including Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Fabiano Caruana (USA), Wei Yi (China) and in Norway Chess Women 2025, Ju Wenjun (China), Lei Tingjie (China), Koneru Humpy (India), Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine), Vaishali R. (India) and Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Spain) will fight for top honours.
NDTV
25-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
India's Chess Star D Gukesh Confident Of Meeting Expectations
Star Indian chess player D Gukesh is embracing the "new level" of competition where he is confident of handling the challenges and "meeting the expectations". Gukesh became the youngest chess world champion when he defeated Ding Liren of China last year in Singapore at just 18 years of age. Set to compete in the elite Norway Chess tournament beginning on Monday, the Chennai youngster said the only thing he needed to gain more success was to keep random thoughts at bay and just concentrate on the game. "It is a new level (for me). But when I see it as a challenge to prove to myself that I can handle this, even though the expectations are high, I can meet them if I keep working hard and doing my best," said the Indian Grandmaster. He said that playing five hours of classical chess can make one's mind wander, but the key to winning those tiring games is to not lose focus. "In a classical game, you end up playing five hours and those are the times you cannot fully be thinking about the game. I think there are random thoughts that come to our mind but the important thing is to stay in the game and come back to those thoughts later. "This is the purpose of the note that you're making. And you can't afford to allow weak moments," said Gukesh, who along with Arjun Erigaisi will compete against the likes of world No.1 Magnus Carlsen and No.2 Hikaru Nakamura in the USD USD 1,62,681 tournament, once termed as "the Wimbledon of Chess" by the legendary Garry Kasparov. The 12-day tournament, which concludes on June 6, will see Gukesh compete against Carlsen in his own backyard, which will be the highlight of the event given that the Indian is the world champion and the Norwegian is the world No. 1. This will be the first time since being crowned world champion that the 18-year-old will face off against Carlsen in the classical format. "I feel great being here (in Stavanger). I've had good memories from Norway. I am sure playing Magnus here in a classical game will be a fun challenge. Also, for the spectators, it is about the world champion versus the No.1 player in the world." The last time Gukesh competed in Norway Chess was in 2023 where he finished third. He had secured the crucial FIDE Circuit points needed to qualify for the 2024 Candidates Tournament. That achievement made him the third-youngest player in history to qualify for a Candidates tournament, following in the footsteps of Bobby Fischer and Carlsen. Gukesh hoped the games against Carlsen would live up to expectations, given the hype built around them. "It surely sounds very exciting so it's surely something I am very happy to give, myself and the chess fans. And I hope it will be a treat," added Gukesh.
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First Post
19-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Praggnanandhaa extends lead in FIDE Circuit Rankings, eyes World Championship clash with Gukesh
Indian GM R Praggnanandhaa extended his lead in the 2025 FIDE Circuit leaderboard by 28 points after winning the Superbet Chess Classic Romania. With strong performances this year, he is emerging as a top contender to qualify for the Candidates Tournament and eventually earn a chance to challenge reigning world champion D Gukesh. read more Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has strengthened his grip at the top of the 2025 FIDE Circuit leaderboard after his first-ever Grand Chess Tour title at Superbet Classic 2025_._ He is now leading with a solid 28-point margin over the rest of the players. The 19-year-old has emerged as a serious contender for next year's Candidates Tournament, thanks to his consistent performances this season. 🇮🇳 Praggnanandhaa extends his lead — setting the pace with a commanding margin! With his victory at the Superbet Chess Classic Romania, @rpraggnachess strengthens his position at the top of the #FIDECircuit rankings, now leading by a remarkable 28 points! 🏆♟️ — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) May 18, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The FIDE Circuit is a points-based system introduced to decide one of the spots for the Candidates Tournament, which decides who will play in the World Chess Championship. Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh is the current world champion title holder after he defeated China's Ding Liren last year. The player who wins the Candidates in 2026 will challenge Gukesh. He has now collected valuable points from multiple tournaments throughout the season, building a strong case for a Candidates seat. The gap between him and the second-placed Ding Liren is 27.76 points. With several events still left in the year, Praggnanandhaa will be hoping to keep the momentum going. Praggnanandhaa's latest boost in the rankings came after he won the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2025. Although he finished the classical segment tied for first with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja, he kept his calm and beat Vachier-Lagrave in the final blitz tiebreaker game to seal the title. 'I have always dreamt of winning a GCT event, Winning the Superbet Chess Classic is indeed dream come true. I'm grateful to my coach, team, family, and supporters for their unwavering belief in me,' Praggnandhaa said after the win in Bucharest. I have always dreamt of winning a GCT event, Winning the #SuperbetChessClassic is indeed dream come true. I'm grateful to my coach, team, family, and supporters for their unwavering belief in me. — Praggnanandhaa (@rpraggnachess) May 17, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This was his second big title of 2025 after winning the Tata Steel Chess tournament earlier in the year. His prize money for the Superbet win was $77,667 (approx. Rs 66.5 lakh). Earlier this month, Praggnanandhaa contested in the Poland leg of the Superbet Chess Classic, where he secured a strong third place.
