Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

How is R Praggnanandhaa placed as far as qualification for next year’s Candidates Championship is concerned? He is the only Indian with a chance to make it to the eight-player event, the winner of which will earn the right to challenge D Gukesh in the World Championship bout. Pragg is the runaway leader in the FIDE Circuit 2025. The topper of this one gets a Candidates berth. With few tournaments remaining this year, it’s fair to say that he has almost made the cut. The catch is, there is this ‘almost’ attached to it. To put it in perspective, the…

By Atreyo Mukhopadhyay I recently returned from a three-week trip to Goa. Last year around this time, it was Singapore for a fortnight. Bills paid by the employers, these are dream assignments. Right? Nothing could have been further from the truth. I was actually trembling in fear when I landed in Singapore. Although to a lesser extent, trepidation was the companion again before boarding for Goa. I was there to cover top-level chess. The first one was the FIDE World Championship between Ding Liren and D Gukesh. The second was the FIDE World Cup. Most of my relatives, friends and…

Picture credit- Michal Walusza/FIDE When the FIDE World Cup got underway in Goa, all eyes were on the Indian youngsters. After a month of chess by the beach during which the home challenge gradually faded, a teenager from Uzbekistan had the last laugh. Javokhir Sindarov, 19, edged China Wei Yi in the second tie-break game on Wednesday. He is the youngest player to win the most prestigious knockout event in the world. The two classical games and the first tie-breaker played in the rapid format were drawn. The experts doing live commentary from the spot were of the view that…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay Beneath the tales of a Chinese resurgence and an Uzbek uprising lies the story of FIDE World Cup 2025. It needs no introduction. The eventually tame show from a strong Indian presence has been a highlight of the chess by the beach in Goa. Wei Yi is taking on Javokhir Sindarov in the final which began on Monday. China is back in the top flight after Ding Liren’s defeat against D Gukesh in last year’s World Championship. Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev, whom he overcame in the semi-finals, starred in a strong show by Uzbekistan. The home contingent…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa The quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup is a landmark stage for Indian chess players. In the previous edition of the event in 2023, four of them reached the last eight, which announced to the world the arrival of the new generation. Historic and bigger things followed. The same stage of the competition will remain a moment of sadness for them. Following the defeat of Arjun Erigaisi, the Indian challenge in World Cup 2025 got over on Wednesday. Playing against Wei Yi of China in the tie-breakers following two draws in the classical format,…

By Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa Things can change a in a matter of a day in sports. At the FIDE World Cup on Tuesday, Arjun Erigaisi was engaged in a long affair with Wei Yi in the second game of the quarterfinals. A day earlier, he had opted for a super-fast approach. Like that one, this game also ended in a draw after three hours and 15 minutes, which means the Indian and the Chinese now head into the tie-breakers scheduled for Wednesday. Two more contests will be decided via the shorter formats. Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev was the only player…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa There was a surprise guest at the FIDE World Cup on Tuesday. Anurag Thakur, former sports minister and president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was here to make the ceremonial first move in the game between Arjun Erigaisi and China’s Wei Yi. He heads a Parliamentary committee these days and has no direct connection with sports. Still, he has an idea about the Indian sports ecosystem. Thakur spoke eloquently about the efforts made by several national sports bodies these days and particularly praised the All India Chess Federation for handing out…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa Blitz is a format in chess played under extremely short time control. Players have to make their moves at lightning speed. In the ongoing FIDE World Cup, this is deployed in the later stages of the tie-breakers. What Arjun Erigaisi produced in the first game of the quarterfinals against Wei Yi of China could be described as an exhibition of blitz in the classical or the longest format. It was a draw in just under an hour with black pieces for the Indian, who will have white in tomorrow’s return leg. To add perspective, the other…

By Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa As the FIDE World Cup approaches the business end, the report card from an Indian perspective doesn’t make for happy reading. There were seven from the country in the top 25 in the field of 206 players. Six of them were rated 2700 or above. The top three seeds were Indians. Heading into the quarterfinals, Arjun Erigaisi is the lone one standing. In the last 16, Pentala Harikrishna was the only other player carrying the Tricolour. That is not a great story. World champion D Gukesh and last edition’s runner-up R Praggnanandhaa were eliminated early.…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa It was close to 7 pm. Pentala Harikrishna had his left arm clasping the forehead. There were creases on that. Chess players often do that, a lot of time with both hands, which makes for some intense photographs. The difference between those postures and this was it was a sign of resignation. He knew he had lost all ways of forcing his way through in a must-win situation. It signalled his exit from the FIDE World Cup. Playing against José Martínez Alcántara of Mexico in the tie-breakers of the fifth round, the Indian veteran drew the…