Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

About 45 minutes into Round 4 of the Candidates chess tournament, the commentators in the live telecast on the website of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), switched to a ‘bird’s-eye view’ of proceedings in the open category. This shows all four boards on the screen at the same time. Identifying the openings one by one on three boards, Viswanathan Anand turned his attention to the fourth, where R Praggnanandhaa was playing with black against Hikaru Nakamura, the World No. 3. On screen, Anand went quiet for a while, with a what-is-that expression. The piece structure was complex, and it took…

He doesn’t make headlines for his flamboyant moves. Nor does his game contain any X factor. He is not heard or seen that often in the media either. Yet, in a landmark Candidates chess tournament for India, D Gukesh has been the best player in the country in the first four rounds. The Chennai boy says he doesn’t feel pressure. Asked in a video interview on the official website of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), about how different it felt to be at the Candidates, the youngest player in the history of the competition replied it was like other competitions.…

Among other things, chess is also about compensating for resources lost. One has to make up for what has been conceded. After suffering defeats, a day earlier in the Candidates chess tournament in Toronto, siblings R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali bounced back with wins in the third round. Pragg shocked everybody including Viswanathan Anand doing commentary with an outrageously unconventional move early on and converted a seemingly hopeless position with black into a win against Vidit Gujrathi. Vaishali was far more orthodox in her victory with white against Nurgyul Salimova of Bulgaria. The other six games were drawn. D Gukesh,…

To have a strong team, it’s important to have a strong bench. Giving this idea a slight twist, it can be said that to have a pool of strong chess players, it’s essential to have a bunch of good coaches. The better the support staff, the better the performance of the players. Behind the rise of a new crop of Indians threatening to disrupt the world order, it’s difficult to overlook some seasoned players playing their part in this movement as members of the support team. Commentating on the second round of the Candidates meet in Toronto, Viswanathan Anand repeatedly…

It was 3.45 am IST, Saturday. Not many saw live a massive moment in Indian chess. That was when World No. 3 Hikaru Nakamura threw in the towel in his Candidates chess game against Vidit Gujrathi. Indian men have beaten top players of late, but considering the importance of the tournament and the status of the opponent, this is a contender for the best, after the exploits of Viswanathan Anand. Doing live commentary in Toronto, Anand acknowledged the effort and praised Vidit’s strategy of following unexpected lines with black pieces, which first surprised the American and then slowly and surely,…

Indian players made an unspectacular yet steady start at the Candidates chess competition in Toronto. Three in the open category and two in the women’s section were part of the seven draws in the eight games across both sections in the first round. It’s a decent beginning, considering that it’s a long tournament where the players take part in 14 games each. Normally in the first round of such events, featuring the best of the world, players don’t go all out, because nobody wants such a move to backfire early on in the marathon. They play safe and down shutters…

Seven of the eight games in the first round of the Candidates chess tournament ended in draws in Toronto on Thursday. All five Indians in the fray — Vidit Gujrathi, R Praggnandhaa, D Gukesh, Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali — started their campaigns by sharing the point in their respective games. The lone win of the day was scored by Tan Zhongyi against Lei Tingjie in an all-China contest in the women’s section. Of the Indians in fray in the open section, Vidit Gujrathi was probably in the best position to post a win. Playing against Gukesh with black pieces, the…

I came to know about RevSportz in October 2022. It was at a domestic cricket match. Bengal were playing Himachal Pradesh in the national T20 championship quarter-finals in Kolkata. I was very pleasantly surprised to see Subhayan Chakraborty at the ground about half-an-hour before the match started. Not many reporters hit the spot that early. This guy did. It told me two things. One, these people are serious about what they do and they don’t take things for granted. Subhayan lived quite far from the venue for that match. To reach there at around 10 am meant he is sincere.…

This was going to be a close one. Or, so we thought. In the end, it turned out to be an antitheses of sorts. Gujarat Titans did not have a chance against Chennai Super Kings. The match was actually over in the first half. Ravindra steals it Rachin Ravindra (46 off 20) had shown his T20 potentials in the first match. Today, he was in full bloom. Those pick-up hits off the pads and the heaves over the off with deft touches, the New Zealand international showed a wide range of shots. He timed them beautifully. There was no violence.…

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were at it, after they looked like they were not in it. This successful chase against the Punjab Kings, who looked like clinching it, should boost their morale and also, provide their campaign a shot in the arm. Let’s see what happened. Karthik and Lomror Dinesh Karthik and Mahipal Lomror, an impact sub in this game, are contrasting names in Indian cricket. The former is a celebrity and the latter not quite. The two combined to take RCB to a thrilling win against Punjab Kings. It did not look completely out of their reach. The required…