Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa As you walk through the area adjacent to the playing hall at the FIDE World Cup venue, there are certain stalls lined up. Mostly merchandise and other promotional stuff. There is one which might catch the attention. It sells chocolates. Now, that is a bit of an aberration. What are those sweet bars doing here? There is possibly a difference between what they are selling and what you consume from your average neighbourhood store. These are “anti-oxidant, molecular chemical reducing inflammation in the body” chocolates tried out by an entrepreneur who is targeting the sports…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa On a day dominated by draws, all five Indians settled for the split verdict in Game 1 of the fourth round of the FIDE World Cup. It was a quaint Tuesday in Goa as just two of the 15 completed games produced results. At the time of sending this, one game not featuring Indians was going on. Levon Aronian of the USA and Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara of Mexico were the ones to post victories. That means a majority of the match-ups will be decided after the second game of this round on Wednesday. If even…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa How one year can bring about changes unheard of! Buried under the exploits of Viswanathan Anand, Indian chess has turned a new leaf following the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai. Success after success followed, climaxing in D Gukesh’s World Championship triumph. Now, this generation doesn’t aim at anything else other than the highest. It’s a sea change. Before 2024, the only Indian to have qualified for the Candidates Championship, which selects the challenger to the world champion, was Anand. Last year, Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi qualified for the elite event. Now, less than three is…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa The ouster of D Gukesh in the third round has been the highlight of the FIDE World Cup so far. The world champion had not been in the best of form of late, but this early exit was unexpected. Aravindh Chithambaram, Vidit Gujrathi and Nihal Sarin also suffered shock defeats. All of them were tipped to get beyond the third round at least, if not reach the quarterfinals. On a brighter note for India, Arjun Erigaisi and P Harkrishna have been excellent. Erigaisi has won three of his four games and drew the other one when…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa There was more bad news than good for Indians in the Round 3 tie-breakers of the FIDE World Cup on Sunday. Of the three in fray, Vidit Gujrathi and SL Narayanan crashed out. Karthik Venkataraman was the lone one to progress, making it five from the country in the last 32 of the most prestigious knockout chess tournament. Vidit’s ouster was unexpected and heartbreaking for his family members waiting anxiously outside the playing hall. Quarterfinalist in the last two editions in 2021 and 2023, he won the first tie-break game against Sam Shankland of the USA.…

Not many in India had heard of Frederik Svane. He is a German chess player, as is his brother Rasmus Svane. There are not too many examples of two brothers having secured the Grandmaster title. That’s not how Indian fans will remember the younger of the Svane siblings. The 21-year-old hit global headlines by eliminating D Gukesh from the third round of the FIDE World Cup in progress in Goa. The world champion’s departure will remain a highlight of this knockout event. “It’s unbelievable and unexpected,” Svane told ChessBase India after his landmark win on Saturday. He had no hesitation…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa Jan-Krzysztof Duda is a Polish chess player who won the FIDE World Cup in 2021. He was a part of D Gukesh’s support team during the World Championship last year. The 27-year-old recently announced he is taking time off chess to recharge psychologically. Vasyl Ivanchuk is a former world No. 2. It’s widely regarded that the Ukrainian would have been the No. 1 had his peak not coincided with the reign of Garry Kasparov. The 56-year-old said after losing in Round 2 of the ongoing World Cup that he was emotionally drained. Daniel Dardha is 20.…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa A tsunami of sorts took place in the coast of Goa on Saturday. D Gukesh was eliminated from the FIDE World Cup in the third round. In unquestionably the biggest upset of this edition of the event and in the recent history of the knockout competition, the world champion lost to Frederik Svane of Germany with white pieces. Not in the best of form of late and having drawn two of his three games in the competition, Gukesh was still expected to put it across the player ranked 85th in the world. The Indian is…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa Something called plasma is the fourth state of matter after solid, liquid and gaseous. In chess, a fourth state of official supremacy is on the cards. A new World Championship in addition to the existing ones in the classical, rapid and blitz formats has been announced by FIDE, the world governing body of the game. To be organised in partnership with Norway Chess from 2027, this will combine the existing formats and the winner will be the one who emerges the best after competitions in a faster classical version, rapid and blitz held under one umbrella.…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa It was a mixed day with more good than bad for the Indian stars at the FIDE World Cup. They didn’t suffer upset defeats, but not all of them won either. Among those who drew their first games in Round 3 of the knockout competition were D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi. Arjun Erigaisi and Pentala Harikrishna scored comprehensive wins, which means they need a draw on Saturday to reach the fourth round. Also drawing his game was Diptayan Ghosh. The lesser-known Grandmaster from Kolkata, who caused the shock of the event by eliminating…