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Indian Express
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
With 3 months left, FIDE World Cup 2025 host city still under wraps as FIDE confirm once again that India will host prestigious event
The global governing body of chess, FIDE, has once again reiterated that the prestigious FIDE World Cup event will be contested in India this year. However, once again, the organisation has not weighed in on which city will host the event. There has been plenty of speculation about the host city so far, with Goa being a prime candidate for the event. 'Further details, including the announcement of the host city, will be released in due course,' FIDE said in a statement on Monday. As per FIDE, at least 21 Indians have qualified for the tournament out of the 206. However, this list includes names like five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, who is semi-retired and is also FIDE Deputy President, and reigning world champion Gukesh. The other Indian players are: Praggnanandhaa R (courtesy of being World Cup 2023 second place finisher), Arjun Erigaisi (as per rating list in June 2025), Aravindh Chithambaram (June 2025 rating list), Nihal Sarin, Iniyan Pa, Raja Rithvik R, Narayanan SL, Pranesh M, Harshavardhan GB, Karthikeyan Murali, Idani Pouya, Karthik Venkataraman, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Neelash Saha, Diptayan Ghosh, Aromyak Ghosh, Himal Gusain, Lalit Babu MR (all via continental spots) and Vidit Gujrathi (via Chess Olympiad spot). The announcement of the host city is now long overdue, with FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich even telling media during the Norway Chess earlier this year that an announcement could be made within days. Initially, India's capital New Delhi was being touted as a host venue, but there were concerns about it, which led to a rethink. Talking to Indian media on the sidelines of the Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger a couple of months ago, FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich had said: 'The location will be determined based on our standards, of course by the Indian government, not by us. But we will agree with any reasonable choice. And I think the announcement is going to be made in the next few days, but I cannot disclose which location, since it's going to be announced by one of the top officials in India, of course, together with us.' So what do we know about the upcoming FIDE World Cup? FIDE has confirmed the dates of the event: The World Cup is scheduled for October 30 to November 27 this year. The FIDE World Cup 2025 will feature 206 players competing in a head-to-head, two-game knockout format over eight rounds. Each round spans three days: two classical games (between two players) on the first two days, followed by tie-breaks on the third day, if necessary. In the first round, the top 50 players receive byes, while players seeded from 51 to 206 compete, with pairings based on the principle of the top half versus the reversed lower half. The FIDE World Cup is the event that offers the top three finishers direct qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which determines the challenger for the World Chess Championship.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Praggnanandhaa vs Magnus Carlsen: How India's rising chess star eclipsed World No.1 twice in a week at Las Vegas Freestyle event
It's not often that World No.1 and former five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen is beaten by the same opponent twice in four days. India's R Praggnanandhaa, the soft-spoken, bespectacled rising star, did just that in Las Vegas. On Thursday, Praggnanandhaa stunned Carlsen in the classification game for a quarterfinal spot in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour's upper bracket in Los Angeles, denying him a direct entry into the top eight for the first time in the tour. On Saturday, Praggnanandhaa found Carlsen standing in his way again, this time in the lower bracket of the LA leg. The Chennai lad was one notch above the Norwegian maestro in the 43-move game, forcing Carlsen to resign for his second win over the World No. 1. What made this victory special was that Praggnanandhaa was coming off a gruelling 10-hour loss, stretching over seven straight games against American Fabiano Caruana in the upper bracket quarterfinals. The Indian prodigy described it as one of the 'craziest matches' he had ever played. He had regained ground after beating Germany's Vincent Keymer, but playing Carlsen is a herculean challenge even for one of the best next-generation stars. The earlier loss on Thursday meant that Carlsen could no longer fight for the title, with his best possible finish now being third place in the overall standings. The rematch, for Carlsen, was a matter of pride after his title hopes had been dashed in Freestyle chess, his favourite variant. Praggnanandhaa's best possible finish is seventh place. In this format, each game begins with randomly shuffled back-rank pieces, creating 960 possible starting positions. Designed to nullify established chess theory, it forces players into uncharted territory from the very first move. Praggnanandhaa's second consecutive victory against the normally invincible Carlsen was no small feat. However, coming after Carlsen's twin losses to World Champion D Gukesh in the classical format at Norway Chess and in the rapid format at Croatia's SuperUnited tournament, defeat against Arjun Erigaisi at Paris leg of Freestyle event and a surprising draw against nine-year-old Indian Aarit Kapil in an online Blitz game, the Norwegian's aura of invincibility appears to be showing cracks. But Carlsen, being the genius he is, fought back to beat Praggnanandhaa in the next three games to stay in the hunt for a podium finish on Saturday. Yet, Praggnanandhaa has emerged, by far, as the most competent Indian to take Carlsen head-on. Whether it's Mikhail Tal's famous advice to Alexander Beliavsky to hone his intuition, or Garry Kasparov's enduring belief that it's 'intuition first, then calculation', the chess world's elite have consistently agreed on one principle: intuition trumps calculation. And, Carlsen has been vocal and direct in his assessment of the Indian prodigies, praising them as some of the best calculators in the game, though he believes their lack of intuitive play leaves them vulnerable. 'What most of them (Indian players from this generation) have in common is that their calculation is extremely good. Even those players who have zero understanding of the game, they calculate so well that, with longer time controls, they can still get by and give even people like me a really, really hard time,' Carlsen had remarked earlier. Carlsen once compared Indian players to their Chinese counterparts, noting greater stylistic diversity among the latter. 'There's a bigger variety within Chinese players. You have the World Champion Ding (Liren)… who's not doing great at the moment, but at his peak, he was an incredible, intuitive, dynamic player. So, very different styles there,' Carlsen had observed last year. Praggnanandhaa, however, has managed to quash this perception of Carlsen. Learning from Kasparov's 'trusting your guts' advice, the young Indian's game has the required element that has bothered even the best of talents. Carlsen famously applauded Praggnanandhaa after the Indian put up a tremendous fight at the Julius Baer Generation Cup in September 2022, where the Norwegian barely escaped with a draw against the then 16-year-old. By then, Praggnanandhaa had already beaten Carlsen multiple times to gain his respect. Magnus Carlsen gives 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa a quick round of applause and thumbs up after a fantastic fight ends in a draw! #ChessChamps #JuliusBaerGenerationCup — chess24 (@chess24com) September 19, 2022 The year 2023 was a breakout one for Praggnanandhaa. He stormed into the FIDE World Cup final, defeating some of the biggest names in the circuit, including Carlsen's long-time arch-rival, Hikaru Nakamura. His victory over Nakamura was so impressive that it drew Carlsen away from his own match to congratulate the teenager with a pat on the back and heartfelt praise: 'We all want to be like you today.' Incidentally, Praggnanandhaa faced Carlsen in that World Cup final. At one stage, he nearly denied the Norwegian his last major title, playing two sublime games in the Classical format and forcing the final into tiebreaks. However, Carlsen — clearly superior to Praggnanandhaa in shorter time controls — prevailed over the Indian, ending his long wait for a coveted World Cup gold. Though a heartbroken Praggnanandhaa lost to Carlsen on what was perhaps the biggest stage after the latter relinquished his World Championship title, the Indian's composure and playing style made one thing clear: Praggnanandhaa was destined to trouble Carlsen in the months and weeks to come.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Vishy Anand on Magnus Carlsen's fist smash moment: ‘Like falling and injuring yourself 2 metres before finish line'
Viswanathan Anand has said that Magnus Carlsen's anger at losing to Gukesh in Norway Chess — where the world no 1 famously smashed his fist on the table — was understandable and has compared it to a runner 'falling and injuring themselves two metres before the finish line.' The incident had made global headlines and became on the most memed and parodied incidents from the sport over the last few months. Carlsen was livid because he had lost a winning position in a couple of moves to the 19-year-old from India who currently occupies the world champion's throne, which was so willingly vacated by Carlsen two years ago. Anand said that the viral moment had actually broken stereotypes of chess players not showing emotion during games. 'I would not call this totally undeserved (win for Gukesh). Magnus is famous for converting things perfectly. So he of all people should know (how to win this). But of course Gukesh was lucky that he could even survive this far. Magnus was basically 99% of the way. It's like falling and injuring yourself 2 metres before the finish line. That's what happened to him. He was so angry that he hit the table. Quite understandable and even in a sporting sense he just produced a moment where everyone could see what what chess players are going through. People have this fixed image of chess players being very serious and suddenly they see emotions and enjoy it. So also it helps us break some stereotypes,' Anand said in an interview with When Anand was asked if he had ever reacted like Carlsen had after a loss, he even joked: 'There was no point doing it. There weren't 20 cameras pointed at you. So what's the point? The only reason to do this is to get on social media now.' Talking about the incident, Anand said: 'Even many non-Indians have seen this. So clearly they enjoy seeing chess players do that. I enjoyed it as well because you know it's drama. From Magnus's perspective also I understand it very well. He was winning the game. He wanted to beat Gukesh in a sporting sense. He wanted to really show and he had the opportunity in the palm of his hands. He was going to beat him twice at Norway Chess in two games and make a point. 'At some point in that game, Magnus started to outplay him. So you can see Magnus' pieces all coming for the kill. The only thing is around about here when Magnus starts this king march. It is slightly risky. It is not a bad method but the possibility of mistakes happen. And once again a miracle happens. But this is a common miracle. I have done it myself. You get irritated at your opponent's resistance that he's not resigning. And then you get angry and try to finish the game with some calculation. Somewhere here something has gone wrong. Of course these mistakes happen. And suddenly Magnus has lost.'
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First Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- First Post
Magnus's menace: How young Indian Grandmasters are proving to be his toughest challengers
Though he remains the world's top-ranked player across formats and is still a force to be reckoned with, Magnus Carlsen has been on the losing side fairly frequently in recent months. And it's one group of players in particular that have accounted for those losses more than any other – young Indian GMs. read more Magnus Carlsen has lost to D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa in the last couple of months, including in the ongoing Freestyle Chess Las Vegas. Image credit: Grand Chess Tour/Norway Chess/Tata Steel Chess Magnus Carlsen's authority as the world's best chess player had hardly been challenged since he defeated Viswanathan Anand in 2013 to be crowned world champion, three years after he rose to the top of the FIDE ratings for the first time in his career. Carlsen would go on to defeat Anand in a rematch the following year, and thus began an era of domination rivaled only by legends of the game such as Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov in the board game's history. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And even at the age of 34, more than two decades after attaining the title of 'Grandmaster', Carlsen continues to scale new heights in chess, having recently become the first player ever to breach the 2900 ELO rating barrier, albeit in Freestyle format. Nonetheless, at the same time, the Norwegian chess icon, who has been the world's top-ranked player continuously since 2011, finds his authority increasingly challenged with each passing tournament. And there's a particular group of players who have proven to be a thorn in the flesh for Carlsen more often than not – young Indian Grandmasters. Particularly, the current generation of rising stars, who have excelled over the last couple of years, has transformed India into a powerhouse of sorts in the world of chess. Losing against Indian players isn't a recent phenomenon for Carlsen – he had, after all, lost to veteran Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna at the Lausanne Young Masters in 2005. Legendary GM Anand too had scored quite a few wins over Carlsen in the early years of his career – especially during his second reign as world champion from 2007 to 2012, and most recently at the 2022 Norway Chess. Magnus Carlsen's dominance in chess had rarely been challenged for more than a decade after he defeated Viswanathan Anand in 2013 to be crowned world champion for the first time. Reuters Karthikeyan Murali became only the third Indian to defeat the Norwegian at the Qatar Masters in 2023. Over a year later, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa would become the first of the current generation of stars to triumph over Carlsen in the Classical format – at the Norway Chess, his home event, of all places. Later that year, Arjun Erigaisi would outclass Carlsen in just 20 moves at the Tata Steel Blitz event in Kolkata STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'King' and 'weaker player' jibes intensify rivalry with Indians So why the spotlight on Carlsen's defeats against young Indians in recent months? It might have something to do with India's rise as a chess nation since 2024 – a year that witnessed Gukesh Dommaraju become the youngest champion in the history of the Candidates Tournament and the World Championship, besides India becoming only the third nation to achieve a golden sweep at the Chess Olympiad. That and Carlsen's feud with FIDE, in which the former not only criticised the Lausanne-based world governing body and how they ran the sport at a global level, but also slammed Classical chess in favour of the new Freestyle format. Some of those potshots were directed towards Anand, who has served as FIDE's deputy president since 2022. And it was only a matter of time before Gukesh and his cronies would be targeted. Carlsen and Gukesh had come face-to-face for the first time since the latter was crowned world champion at this year's Norway Chess. After beating him in dominant fashion in the opening round, Carlsen took a jibe at Gukesh by quoting a line from the popular HBO series, 'You come at the king, you best not miss.' A little over a month later, ahead of the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia, Carlsen took a fresh dig at Gukesh by referring to him as "one of weaker players". STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Letting the chess pieces do the talking On both occasions, Gukesh responded with brilliance on the chess board to silence Carlsen without saying a word. In Norway, Gukesh fought back from a near-hopeless position to defeat Carlsen for the first time in his career, pulling off what surely was the biggest win of his career alongside his triumph over Ding Liren in the World Championship in December. What made the result even more dramatic was Carlsen's infamous fist-slam on the table in anger that elicited a shocked reaction from his opponent. World chess champion Magnus Carlsen slams table after losing to young chess prodigy — Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) June 18, 2025 And earlier this month in Zagreb, the teenage Grandmaster from Chennai defeated Carlsen for the second time in as many meetings, this time to shut him up for the 'weaker players' jibe. Also Read | Gukesh doesn't miss while coming at 'King' Carlsen, justifies the 'world champion' tag And unlike his victory in Stavanger, this was a win in the Rapid format – one he was considered weak in – in which he dictated terms from start to finish. The manner in which he lost even led to Russian icon Kasparov questioning Magnus' dominance. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD D Gukesh had defeated Magnus Carlsen twice in as many meetings recently, albeit in different formats. Image: Grand Chess Tour It wasn't just the traditional forms of the game that Carlsen has been challenged in. At the ongoing fourth leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas, USA, Carlsen lost to Praggnanandhaa in just 39 moves after committing a couple of blunders. The defeat derailed his campaign after a strong start in which he had won his first two games and drew the third, and culminated in the Freestyle Chess co-founder shockingly failing to reach the quarter-finals. And if that's not all, Carlsen had nearly lost to nine-year-old Candidate Master Aarit Kapil in Titled Tuesday event last month ahead of his trip to Croatia. A spicy rivalry that makes chess so much more interesting And it's not just Indians who are getting the better of Carlsen over the course of the last one year – German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer, after all, had pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent months after beating Carlsen in the semi-finals of Freestyle Chess Weissenhaus in February, the event that he would end up winning later. However, his equation with Indian GMs, especially the young trio of Gukesh, Pragg and Arjun, just has that extra spice which certainly has made chess all the more eventful. There's little doubt over the fact that Carlsen continues to reign supreme, as evidenced by the fact that he won the Norway Chess as well as SuperUnited Croatia, events where he made headlines for his losses to Gukesh more than anything else. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India's 'Golden' Generation', however, is leading the way when it comes to highlighting the fact that Carlsen isn't quite the unstoppable force he once was, especially when he voluntarily decided against defending his world title in 2022, as if to suggest he grew bored with the lack of competition.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
How Praggnanandhaa defeated Magnus Carlsen at Las Vegas Freestyle event
Another tournament in 2025, another defeat at the hands of an Indian for Magnus Carlsen. After losing twice to world champion D Gukesh in the classical format at Norway Chess and then in the rapid format at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia tournament earlier this month, the World No 1 was handed a defeat by R Praggnanandhaa in the Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour on Thursday. In a group-stage clash to determine the eight players who will fight for the title in the 'Upper Bracket', Carlsen was on a roll at the start of the event, winning his first two games and playing out a draw. Then, he ran into Praggnanandhaa in his fourth game, which resulted in a defeat in 39 moves. That started a series of results for Carlsen that saw him end in fifth place in the eight-player group (called Group White, with the other eight players in Group Black) which means that Carlsen cannot play for the title anymore at the Las Vegas tournament. At best, he can now finish third. Praggnanandhaa was ahead on the eval bar from the 10th move itself when he hastily pushed his pawn ahead (10…b5?!). The Norwegian compounded his problems by jumping Praggnanandhaa's knight with his c file pawn (11…cxd4?!). Pragg's second knight calmly hopped away from danger, but found a square ( which made it as lethal as a sniper. In a game where players had 10 minutes on the clock at the start, Carlsen had just 3.24 minutes at this stage. But he spent 3.10 minutes trying to extricate himself out of trouble without activating his queen. READ MORE: 'Karma is a …': Hans Niemann says in commentary as Magnus Carlsen loses and gets relegated to 'Lower Bracket' When Carlsen did find a move, he was down to just 15 seconds on the clock having started with 30 additional seconds than his opponent when he started thinking. It was a particularly lethal square from where Praggnanandhaa could have hopped a knight to d6 and put Carlsen's king and queen in a fork. It was the beginning of the end for Carlsen. Soon, both queens were off the board and Pragg was two pawns up with Carlsen's king running for cover. There was none to be found. The Indian's rooks moved around on the board, gobbling up Carlsen's pieces like a giant vacuum cleaner swallowing Lego pieces, keeping the Norwegian's king on its toes. The win over Carlsen was one of the highlights of Praggnanandhaa's day as he topped Group White. The Norwegian ended fifth after losing twice in tie-breaks to Levon Aronian later on. In Group Black, Arjun Erigaisi ended fourth, which means he can contend for the title as part of the Upper Bracket. The third Indian in fray at the event, Vidit Gujrathi, finished at the bottom of Group Black. Thanks to topping the group, Praggnanandhaa was offered the opportunity to select his opponent in the quarters. Rather than picking Arjun, one of his closest friends on the tour, he opted to duel with Fabiano Caruana. This means Arjun will face Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Vidit, meanwhile, finds himself taking on a wounded Carlsen.
