Latest news with #NorwayChessWomen
Mid East Info
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mid East Info
Chess stars turn cowboys for a day at Norway Chess games 2025 - Middle East Business News and Information
In a dramatic twist from the chessboard to the Wild West, the world's top chess players swapped pawns for pistols, sieves, and lassos in this year's edition of Norway Chess Games. Held on a tournament rest day, the tradition of light-hearted competition continued in unforgettable fashion with the 'Chess Cowboy Challenge', a high-spirited showdown in Westernbyen, a Western-themed village in Ålgård, just outside Stavanger. This year's participants was -the star-studded lineup from Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh was unfortunately not able to join, and stepping in was Ella Carlsen, wife of Magnus, proving to be quite the sharpshooter in more ways than one. Adopting their new Western personas, the players embraced the theme wholeheartedly: Magnus 'The Lone GOAT' Carlsen Caruana 'The Sicilian Sniper' Hikaru 'The Blitz Bandit' Nakamura Arjun 'No Slip' Erigaisi Wei 'The Quiet Storm' Yi Gukesh 'The Chennai Sharpshooter' D Vaishali 'The Rising Rider' Rameshbabu Anna 'Ice Veins' Muzychuk Humpy 'The Hammer' Koneru Lei 'The Lockdown' Tingjie Ju 'No-Loss' Wenjun Ella Carlsen (stepping in as an honorary cowgirl) With nicknames as fierce as their over-the-board styles, the competitors were more than ready to tackle the cowboy gauntlet ahead. The Chess Cowboy Challenge took them through a series of wild tasks. They faced the Sheriff's memory test in a jail escape, sought enlightenment by solving the priest's riddle in the chapel, mined for gold, and tried their hand at axe throwing beside the church. Air rifles, lasso tosses, cowboy quizzes at the pleasure house, and classic horseshoe throws added to the flavor of the day, with real horses roaming the scene for that authentic atmosphere. Each team, made up of one male and one female player, competed across all stations as they worked their way through the village. Final Standings: 1st place: Magnus & Ella Carlsen — crowned Chess Sheriffs 2nd place: Hikaru Nakamura & Anna Muzychuk 3rd place: Fabiano Caruana & Vaishali Rameshbabu 4th place: Gukesh D & Ju Wenjun 5th place: Wei Yi & Lei Tingjie 6th place: Arjun Erigaisi & Humpy Koneru About Norway Chess Games Norway Chess Games is an annual tradition held during the tournament's rest day. It gives the world's best players a break from intense competition and a chance to connect in creative, unexpected ways. Previous editions have included: Chess Chefs – a culinary battle where players cooked for top chefs – a culinary battle where players cooked for top chefs Cake Decorating Challenge – full of icing, sprinkles, and strategy – full of icing, sprinkles, and strategy Farmer for a Day – featuring hand-milking cows and driving tractors – featuring hand-milking cows and driving tractors Design Your Own Knit Sweater– where players designed patterns later hand-knitted into real sweaters as unique keepsakes
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Chess player Sara Khadem on making the tough moves in life
Stavanger, Norway: In early 2020, after her passport was confiscated resulting in a temporary travel ban from Iran, Sara Khadem didn't know what to do with her life. The Covid pandemic extended the frustration, and forced Sara to even ask her husband, an Iranian movie director who worked at an advertising company then, for a job in his office. Chess was the farthest from her mind for the International Master. 'I stopped looking at chess,' Sara said. 'I was thinking of what else I can do.' Five years on, she is among the six women featuring in a strong field in the ongoing 2025 Norway Chess Women. This invitation has helped rekindle her motivation, which had gone missing during a period of upheaval and uncertainty. The trickling test of a six-month travel ban and the pandemic grew into a storm when, in 2022 at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Kazakhstan, Sara refused to wear a hijab. Amid protests in Iran against the mandate for women and heightened tension, Sara, with her husband and one-year-old son, moved to Spain on a residence visa. Now representing that country, she has not returned to Iran since, where an arrest warrant awaits her. 'When you cannot even travel because your own government bans you and they tell you it doesn't matter, like your whole career doesn't matter because we are thinking of something else, then you will reach a point where you don't want to stay,' Sara told a group of journalists here. Sara acknowledged she received support in Iran during her chess journey, and still does from the public. Her thought of emigrating wasn't correlated to what happened in Kazakhstan (it was 'because of my son and the situation in the country'), but not returning to Iran was. 'My first option was to still play for Iran and live outside. Then I realised this wasn't practical because I cannot play in any of the tournaments like the Olympiad and World Cup. I just came to the point where I realised it's not my fault,' she said. Sara isn't the first chess player from Iran to take this route. GM Alireza Firouzja also left Iran protesting the country's boycott of Israel players. He now represents France. 'He had some political issues too, and it's going to be the same (going forward),' Sara said. 'For girls, especially, it's more difficult. If I had to stay in the national team, I had to wear the scarf in order to be able to go back. When I knew this (switching to Spain) was an option for me to decide what I want to do, Iran didn't make sense to me. But still, changing the federation was very difficult. Because I like to play for Iran. I like my country. It wasn't about the country.' Abandoning that country, her family and setting up a life outside – Sara now resides in Marbella – did take its toll. Chess, after her pre-pandemic years of collecting the Grandmaster norms, took a backseat. It even went, as she put it, 'backwards'. 'It was very hard. That's why you don't see me playing so much,' she said. And she is okay with that, in a sport where every day is a race of the ratings. 'I don't want to miss the first years with my son,' Sara said. 'I know a lot of players care about their careers a lot. But I want to make a balance.'
Economic Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
From Gukesh 'The Chennai Sharpshooter' D to Magnus 'The Lone GOAT' Carlsen: Chess stars turn Cowboys
ANI Chess stars turn Cowboys In a dramatic twist from the chessboard to the Wild West, the world's top chess players swapped pawns for pistols, sieves, and lassos in this year's edition of Norway Chess Games. Held on a tournament rest day, the tradition of light-hearted competition continued in unforgettable fashion with the "Chess Cowboy Challenge", a high-spirited showdown in Westernbyen, a Western-themed village in Algard, just outside Stavanger. This year's participants were the star-studded lineup from Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh was unfortunately not able to join, and stepping in was Ella Carlsen, wife of Magnus, proving to be quite the sharpshooter in more ways than their new Western personas, the players embraced the theme wholeheartedly: Magnus "The Lone GOAT" Carlsen Caruana "The Sicilian Sniper" Hikaru "The Blitz Bandit" Nakamura Arjun "No Slip" Erigaisi Wei "The Quiet Storm" Yi Gukesh "The Chennai Sharpshooter" D Vaishali "The Rising Rider" Rameshbabu Anna "Ice Veins" Muzychuk Humpy "The Hammer" Koneru Lei "The Lockdown" Tingjie Ju "No-Loss" Wenjun Ella Carlsen (stepping in as an honorary cowgirl) With nicknames as fierce as their over-the-board styles, the competitors were more than ready to tackle the cowboy gauntlet ahead. The Chess Cowboy Challenge took them through a series of wild tasks. They faced the Sheriff's memory test in a jail escape, sought enlightenment by solving the priest's riddle in the chapel, mined for gold, and tried their hand at axe throwing beside the church. Air rifles, lasso tosses, cowboy quizzes at the pleasure house, and classic horseshoe throws added to the flavour of the day, with real horses roaming the scene for that authentic team, made up of one male and one female player, competed across all stations as they worked their way through the village. 1st place: Magnus & Ella Carlsen -- crowned Chess Sheriffs. 2nd place: Hikaru Nakamura & Anna Muzychuk. 3rd place: Fabiano Caruana & Vaishali Rameshbabu. 4th place: Gukesh D & Ju Wenjun. 5th place: Wei Yi & Lei Tingjie. 6th place: Arjun Erigaisi & Humpy Koneru.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
From Gukesh 'The Chennai Sharpshooter' D to Magnus 'The Lone GOAT' Carlsen: Chess stars turn Cowboys
Magnus "The Lone GOAT" Carlsen Caruana "The Sicilian Sniper" Hikaru "The Blitz Bandit" Nakamura Arjun "No Slip" Erigaisi Wei "The Quiet Storm" Yi Gukesh "The Chennai Sharpshooter" D Vaishali "The Rising Rider" Rameshbabu Anna "Ice Veins" Muzychuk Humpy "The Hammer" Koneru Lei "The Lockdown" Tingjie Ju "No-Loss" Wenjun Ella Carlsen (stepping in as an honorary cowgirl) Live Events Final Standings: 1st place: Magnus & Ella Carlsen -- crowned Chess Sheriffs. 2nd place: Hikaru Nakamura & Anna Muzychuk. 3rd place: Fabiano Caruana & Vaishali Rameshbabu. 4th place: Gukesh D & Ju Wenjun. 5th place: Wei Yi & Lei Tingjie. 6th place: Arjun Erigaisi & Humpy Koneru. (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel In a dramatic twist from the chessboard to the Wild West, the world's top chess players swapped pawns for pistols, sieves, and lassos in this year's edition of Norway Chess Games Held on a tournament rest day, the tradition of light-hearted competition continued in unforgettable fashion with the " Chess Cowboy Challenge ", a high-spirited showdown in Westernbyen, a Western-themed village in Algard, just outside year's participants were the star-studded lineup from Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh was unfortunately not able to join, and stepping in was Ella Carlsen , wife of Magnus, proving to be quite the sharpshooter in more ways than their new Western personas, the players embraced the theme wholeheartedly:With nicknames as fierce as their over-the-board styles, the competitors were more than ready to tackle the cowboy gauntlet Chess Cowboy Challenge took them through a series of wild tasks. They faced the Sheriff's memory test in a jail escape, sought enlightenment by solving the priest's riddle in the chapel, mined for gold, and tried their hand at axe throwing beside the church. Air rifles, lasso tosses, cowboy quizzes at the pleasure house, and classic horseshoe throws added to the flavour of the day, with real horses roaming the scene for that authentic team, made up of one male and one female player, competed across all stations as they worked their way through the village.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Sport
- Hans India
Nakamura, Erigaisi leads Norway Chess after Round 2
Stavanger: The much-anticipated clash between world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen and world no. 2 Hikaru Nakamura began with a deceptively quiet classical game. Carlsen emerged satisfied from the opening, noting in the confessional booth that "White had to prove equality." However, after a series of precise moves on both sides, the game inevitably dissolved into a draw. In the Armageddon, Carlsen got a dangerous attack out of the opening and seemed to have everything under control. However, Armageddon can be unpredictable, and after a mistake in the endgame Nakamura found a brilliant move, winning the game. Fabiano Caruana responded to his opening round setback, grinding out an impressive black-piece victory against China's Yi Wei in a complex battle. The American grandmaster showcased his trademark precision in a game that balanced on a knife's edge before tilting in his favor. The all-Indian encounter saw Erigaisi prevail over World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a tension-filled contest. Erigaisi seized early initiative, but Gukesh's resilient defense created a somewhat equal endgame. As the clock became a decisive factor, the position erupted into chaos before Erigaisi finally broke through to secure the victory. Anna Muzychuk claimed a convincing victory over Humpy Koneru in today's Norway Chess Women action. The Ukrainian star gained a structural advantage from the opening and methodically increased the pressure. However, both players made several mistakes in the endgame. Eventually, it was Koneru who made the last mistake, as a result of which Muzychuk won the game. Both other two games, Vaishali Rameshbabu against Tingjie Lei, and Sarasadat Khademalsharieh against Ju Wenjun, ended in draw. Both Lei Tingjie and Wenjun Ju won their Armageddon games, winning the extra points.
