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Local Sweden
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Local Sweden
How joining a chess club deepened my roots in Sweden
Here at The Local we're always recommending that people join Swedish clubs as a way of becoming more integrated. Paul O'Mahony decided it was finally time to practise what he preached – and met some inspiring fellow chess-lovers along the way. Advertisement For the past year and a half or so I've been accompanying my children to training sessions at Kristallen, a Stockholm-based chess club. Sitting on the sidelines with other parents I found that my ears would prick up whenever their coach, Olov Hamilton, would talk through a master game on the big screen. I've always enjoyed playing chess but had never taken my interest beyond playing online or occasional over-the-board games with friends and family. But Olov's enthusiasm was infectious and I found I couldn't take my eyes off Bobby Fischer's devastating combination play, or a mating pattern delivered with delicious precision by the Hungarian grandmaster Judit Polgar. And sitting there, listening to the story of the three Polgar sisters and their meteoric rise, a frightening thought struck me: my children would quickly become stronger players than me. They would grow bored of playing against an old-timer drifting further and further below their level. So in April I signed the forms and paid the fees and suddenly a whole new world opened itself up to me. Advertisement Riding the Queen's Gambit chess boom Before joining the club it hadn't really clicked with me just how popular chess had become. It turns out that the Netflix series The Queen's Gambit had coincided with the start of the Covid pandemic. Millions of people with time on their hands quickly developed a voracious appetite for the game. A whole ecosystem now exists, made up of countless chess YouTube accounts, online learning tools, and podcasts. Sweden very much got swept up in this rising tide. When recently published statistics for every country in the world, Sweden came fourth in terms of per capita users, with an incredible 1.9 million accounts registered here. And while the boom is most evident online, over-the-board play is also on the rise. The Swedish Chess Federation hit an all-time high last year, with more than 45,000 members playing in the country's many chess clubs. Just this week the enduring chess icon Pia Cramling became the first ever Swede to be inducted into the Chess Hall of Fame. The Stockholm native was just the fifth ever woman to achieve the title of grandmaster and was at one point the highest ranked woman in the world. Funnily enough, a lot of people these days get to know Pia Cramling through her daughter Anna. A strong player in her own right, Anna Cramling's YouTube channel boasts more than 1.5 million followers as she attracts new players to the game with entertaining and instructive videos from the world of chess. Advertisement Checkmates: Getting to know new people through chess As we've written about previously on The Local, clubs – or föreningar – are Sweden's social lifeblood. Getting involved gives you fresh insights into the centrality of shared interests as a social lubricant. As a club member I was now eligible to play in tournaments and so in May I headed out to a competition in Tyresö just outside Stockholm. As I sat and played out a four-hour marathon game, I could see my 12-year-old son deep in thought at a nearby table as he faced off against an 87-year-old woman who was the tournament's oldest competitor. This meeting of minds across the generational divide is one of the most appealing things about chess. To my surprise I managed to win one of my first games and the rush of adrenaline that accompanied that first victory will live with me for a long time. The thrill of an online checkmate pales into insignificance compared to what now felt like the real deal. There were losses too of course but there's nothing like a shared interest to kickstart conversations, and in the few brief months since joining the club I've already met a host of interesting people. Advertisement These include Ahmad Sa'dah, a Jordanian coach and the chief organiser of the Jönköping Chess Festival. Ahmad and his team from the Jordanian Swedish Chess Academy managed to attract some of the best players in Sweden and beyond for a tournament that just celebrated its second anniversary. Last week my family and I spent our days on the beach at Lake Vättern and our evenings competing with players young and old from Sweden, Jordan, Nigeria, UAE and Iraq, to name just a few of the participating nationalities. A wonderful experience Another name that springs to mind is David Ajena, a local chess enthusiast who recently launched Stockholm Chess, a hugely welcoming weekly meetup for players of all levels that takes place at Kulturhuset in Stockholm every Sunday afternoon. Autumn holds the promise of many new encounters. As is often the case in Sweden, once you're in you're really in. And so, starting later this month I'll be standing side-by-side with Olov as an assistant coach, welcoming kids and their parents for the new term. After a quarter of a century in Sweden, the roots I've put down here just got deeper. And I couldn't be happier.
Time of India
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Koneru Humpy vs Divya Deshmukh, Women's Chess World Cup Final 2025 Live: Humpy holds the edge with white pieces in Game 2 against Divya
Koneru Humpy vs Divya Deshmukh, Women's Chess World Cup Final 2025 Live: The highly anticipated Game 1 of FIDE Women's Chess World Cup final between two Indian stars, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh, opened with a captivating classical match in Batumi, Georgia on Saturday. This clash of generations, between the 38-year-old world No. 6 Humpy and the energetic 19-year-old world No. 18 Divya, delivered a roller-coaster of tactics and near-misses. Playing white, Divya opened with the Queen's Gambit, which Humpy accepted, leading to a dynamic Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation. The game followed a sharp line once played by Ivanchuk and Bareev in 1992, and Divya appeared well-prepared. Early on, she built strong pressure, but a crucial error on move 14, sacrificing her bishop instead of activating her queen, cost her a significant positional advantage. Experts later remarked that this might have been a missed mating sequence. Humpy, struggling in the early middle game, regrouped with her 16th move, stabilising the position. Despite being slightly under time pressure, both players entered a tense, heavy-piece endgame. On move 29, Humpy could have claimed a draw, but chose to play on, testing Divya's nerves. Divya eventually won Humpy's rook on move 37, but Humpy held firm, and the game concluded with perpetual checks on move 41, resulting in a hard-fought draw. This thrilling opener, though ultimately even, revealed much about the finalists. Divya showed aggressive preparation and tactical bravery, while Humpy demonstrated resilience and deep positional understanding. As the next classical game looms, with Humpy holding the white pieces, the balance may shift in favour of the seasoned Grandmaster. Still, Divya's fearless performance proves she is more than capable of springing a surprise. Post-match, Humpy admitted to misplaying the opening but praised the complexity of the game, while chess veteran Pravin Thipsay pointed out Divya's missed chance for victory. As the battle for the crown intensifies, this final promises a spectacular conclusion.
Time of India
27-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Divya Deshmukh-Koneru Humpy final starts with veteran accepting Queen's Gambit challenge
Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh (Image credit: FIDE) The dream all-India FIDE Women's Chess World Cup final commenced with a Queen's Gambit game where the experienced Koneru Humpy accepted the challenge of en ergetic Divya Deshmukh in Batumi, Georgia, on Saturday. The opening classical game of the final, a battle of generations — between 38-year-old Humpy, who is ranked No. 6 in the world, and 19-yearold Divya, ranked No. 18 — ended in a 41-move draw with perpetual checks and by repetition. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The title clash opener had all the fireworks but turned out to be a game of missed opportunities for energetic Divya with her white pieces, followed by a fighting draw for experienced Humpy. When Divya castled on the eighth turn after Humpy accepted her challenge in a sharp Queen's Pawn opening, both the Indian compatriots followed the game played in 1992 be -tween former World No. 2 Vasyl Ivan -chuk and 4th ranked Evgeny Bareev. In the Queen's Gambit Accepted game of Central Variation and McDon -nell Defense, Divya had the possibility of taking the lead by winning it within two hours of the contest. With Divya's dark-coloured bishop blocking Humpy's knight, the biggest miss of the game came for the 19-year-old in the 14th move. Had Divya brought her queen into play instead of sacrificing her light-coloured bishop, she could have been in a winning position, but she missed that. After this miss, Humpy escaped from losing the contest, and the position became equal. But the game didn't end there. Both Divya and Humpy fought a tense, equal and heavy-piece endgame. Humpy had a chance to claim a draw on the 29th turn, but she tried some tricks and Divya's king con -tinued the game and was a bit under time trouble too. Finally, when Divya won Humpy's rook on the 37th turn, the 38-year-old India No. 1 split the point with her 4th ranked compatriot by repeating the moves. With Humpy managing to draw with black pieces, she will now be in an advantageous position when she starts the second classical game with white pieces on Sunday. Humpy later said, 'It was quite a complex game where I overcame a complicated situation.' On accepting Divya's challenge in the Queen's Gambit, which she normally doesn't play, Humpy said, 'I think she just prepared on my game which I played earlier. And when I just misplayed in the opening, she got a big advantage, but after my 16th move, I was out of danger.' Speaking with TOI, former national champion Pravin Thipsay said, 'I think the important moment in the game was when Divya exchanged the bishops and gave away all her advantage. If she had brought the queen ahead, I think there's a mating attack, and probably it could have been a quick loss for Humpy. Looks like a great escape after a risky battle.' He added, 'It once again proves that Divya is quite well prepared, and Humpy is trying to make all the board solutions, which perhaps may not be the best idea. But apparently, it seemed to work today because on two occa -sions, if you failed to find the best book, Divya played aggressively, and she sacrificed the piece, which wasn't actually accurate.' Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Indian Express
25-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
FIDE Women's World Cup: Why Koneru Humpy versus Divya Deshmukh will be a battle of contrasting styles
Call it a clash of generations: a fight between a teenager experiencing the heady highs of life on the mountaintop for the first time in her career and a grizzled veteran of previous expeditions to the summit, who has found second wind in her career after childbirth. Or a battle of personalities. A teen who can be endearingly goofy at times, so much so that she smiles at the camera moments before the start of a big battle and apologises to the game clock after knocking it over against a senior pro who turns up for every clash with her game face firmly on. Or a duel between disruptors. One is a 19-year-old who could become the country's fourth woman to earn a GM title without needing to collect the three norms that every other GM from India has needed to get, versus a 38-year-old trailblazer who became the first woman from India to become a grandmaster. The India vs India battle between the veteran Koneru Humpy and the up-and-coming Divya Deshmukh at Georgia's Batumi will represent the latest rumble of the Indian earthquake shaking up the hierarchy of world chess over the last five years. It is after all two Indians fighting for the title of an event where 107 players from 46 countries, including 17 ranked in the current top 20, were in the fray. The battle between Humpy and Divya will also be a contest of contrasts over the board. As grandmaster Srinath Narayanan points out, Humpy is a player who comes armed with fewer weapons to a battle, but she's sharpened them well. Divya, on the other hand, is someone who is likely to have a larger repertoire at her disposal. 'Humpy has a narrow set of openings. But she is well prepared in those and she tends to keep repeating them during a tournament. There will be openings that she prepares for specific tournaments. There won't be massive variation from that: it won't be a different opening for each game,' Srinath says. Look at the eight-game battle against Lei Tingjie in the semi-final. Each of the four games that Humpy played with white against the Chinese player started with the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 followed by 2.c4). This is not to imply that that's the only opening Humpy has used during the tournament, but to point out that she has been selective with what she wants to fight with. GM Pravin Thipsay, meanwhile, argues that Humpy is a player who doesn't actually rely too much on opening prep. 'Humpy plays more on principles. She's not bothered about the exact move order. She's not interested in getting an advantage from the opening. At that level, she could be the least prepared player because she plays her own game. Her originality is the matter. Whereas, for other players, particularly from the younger generation, they will have the exact opening preparation up to move 15 or 20. But because of this, you cannot really prepare against Humpy, because she is not going to play what Magnus Carlsen played or Garry Kasparov played,' says Thipsay. Srinath calls Humpy a prototypical classical chess player, who's also excelled at the faster time controls when she needed to. 'In terms of her style, she is quite solid. Her strength is definitely in the classical format as opposed to rapid and blitz, because she grew up at a time when those faster formats were far from mainstream and classical chess was the thing,' says the Chennai-based GM, before analysing Divya's style: 'Divya is aggressive and tactical in style. Although she has become more versatile in recent times, by default, she's more aggressive and tactical.' For the uninitiated, positional players focus on long-term strategy. They improve their position by building it block by block over the course of several moves. Tactical players instead look for immediate ways to confront the opponent. Thipsay offers a checklist of the aspects that could decide the matter at Batumi. 'The match's fortunes will depend on how sharp Divya is able to make the positions, and how positional Humpy is going to make the game… Humpy's style is very sound and solid, and she goes more or less for positional games. So the quieter the game, I think, the better chances for Humpy,' he says before adding: 'In endgames, Humpy's accuracy is going to play a very important role, because Divya plays energetically, but her accuracy level is less.' Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte had pointed out earlier how the tournament had seen the teenage Divya playing with the maturity one would expect from Humpy and the 38-year-old playing with the energetic vigour of her 19-year-old compatriot. To this, Srinath adds: 'I think the final is very inspirational (for Indian chess). On one hand, you have an icon, a 38-year-old woman who is showing that you can do it. And then you also have a young and upcoming player from this generation. Two different sets of role models. And that inspires two different sets of the population and audience. This can have an inspiring effect on more girls taking up chess. But hopefully this won't just stop with the World Cup and should eventually go towards the Women's World Championship title itself.' Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. ... Read More
Wales Online
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Fans spot Cara Delevingne and Anya Taylor-Joy singing to Wonderwall at Oasis gig
Fans spot Cara Delevingne and Anya Taylor-Joy singing to Wonderwall at Oasis gig Oasis kicked off their reunion tour in Cardiff with many familiar faces in the crowd The famous duo have been spotted at multiple music events together (Image:) Among the 70,000-strong crowd at Oasis' first performance since 2009 were many famous faces. With the reunion tour kicking off in Cardiff on Friday celebrities and other fans from across the world have been posting their delight at the gig on social media. Among the fans of the Gallagher brothers was English model and actress Cara Delevingne who was accompanied but famous friend, actress Anya Taylor-Joy. Follow today's Oasis updates here The pair also attended the Glastonbury music festival together last weekend who were both spotted watching Charlie XCX and Alanis Morissette perform. Together again, the famous duo danced along to Oasis' top hits as they performed at the the Principality Stadium on Friday. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here In a video on Cara's Instagram stories, she is heard singing along to Wonderwall as she pans the camera around the massive crowd to Anya who is dancing and singing along too. Cara posted from Cardiff on Instagram (Image: Instagram ) Cara captions the video "Life made" expressing her thanks to Noel Gallagher and Oasis. Anya, best known for her roles in Split and the Queen's Gambit, was also spotted by fans as she walked to her seat inside the Cardiff venue. Content cannot be displayed without consent Other celebrities were spotted at the first concert of the Oasis Live 2025 tour, with Vernon Kay sporting his blue Oasis bucket hat outside the stadium with queuing fans. The radio host and TV presenter sang along with his daughter Amber and admitted "tears were shed". Oasis will be playing their second night of their tour in Cardiff tonight - Saturday, July 5 - before taking on the rest of the UK and around the world. Looking for last minute tickets? Tickets for the Oasis reunion sold out across all venues due to huge demand when they went online earlier in the year. However, there are still several options available for fans trying to snag a last-minute spot. Limited last-minute tickets can be bought from the official Ticketmaster resale site, where fans who can no longer go sell their seats, although these tend to go into and out of stock quickly. Elsewhere, resale sites like Viagogo, Vivid Seats, StubHub and Twickets are selling tickets for various dates with prices from £121, although fans should always bear in mind that many official sites, such as Ticketmaster and Live Nation, discourage the purchase of resale tickets. Article continues below Viagogo and resale tickets Sites such as viagogo, Stubhub, and Vivid Seats allow fans to buy resale tickets from other fans. However, it is important to note that ticket conditions often prohibit resale after initial purchase. Those tickets may not be valid for admittance to gigs. Fans intending to buy tickets for live events through resale websites should check the ticket terms and conditions, to confirm whether resale is prohibited, before they buy. Ticket terms and conditions can be checked with the original seller, such as Ticketmaster or Live Nation. If resale is prohibited, tickets bought second-hand could be voided and admission to the event refused.
