Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay More cricket away from the spotlight! The second round of Ranji Trophy league phase begins on Saturday. Bengal take on Gujarat in a Group C match at Eden Gardens and the stakes will be high. Performance here doesn’t get headlines, but runs made and wickets taken are taken seriously by the selectors. There are a few in both teams keen to do that. Talking about India aspirants, foremost is Mohammed Shami. The veteran fast bowler answered questions on fitness by bowling 39.3 overs and taking seven wickets across two innings in Bengal’s eight-wicket win over Uttarakhand in the…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay Floating under the dizzy heights reached by his peers, Nihal Sarin was looking for his own space and scope. He has succeeded in meeting some of those goals this year. Amidst ups and downs, timely performances helped him secure a berth in the biggest event of 2025, win a tournament in Tashkent and touch the 2700 Elo rating mark separating the elite from others. In doing so, he has set himself up nicely for the FIDE World Cup. The knockout event in Goa from October 31 to November 27 offers three tickets to Candidates 2026. A prodigy who…

Dictionary defines ‘transition’ as ‘the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another’. It’s a crucial phase in sports. Those who follow team games can tell that broadly, this is when the old makes way for the new. In individual disciplines, a key transition is the shift from junior to senior. That’s why Tanvi Sharma’s runner-up finish in the girl’s section of the world junior (U-19) badminton championship in Guwahati needs careful examination. It’s a commendable feat, not unprecedented. She is the third woman and 11th player from the country to be on the podium…

Every success story has silent heroes. In Indian chess, RB Ramesh is one of them. After becoming the country’s 10th Grandmaster in 2004, he gave in to his inner calling four years later. He quit as a player and switched to coaching when he was 32. The academy run by him in Chennai has produced among others, R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali — the world’s only Grandmaster brother-sister duo — and Aravindh Chithambaram. Pragg and Aravindh are taking part in the FIDE World Cup in Goa from October 31. Ramesh has written two books on chess and his commentary drew…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay The beaches of Goa and adjoining areas turn into a sea of humanity between the months of November and February. That’s when the ‘season’ is. During that period, the tiny state, which is arguably the tourism capital of India, becomes a hotbed of activities featuring folks from the world over. Goa has also hosted the International Film Festival of India annually since 2004. This November event has added another dimension to an atmosphere that encourages visitors to have a good time. Entertainment of another kind is on offer on the Konkan coast this year. The FIDE World Cup…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay It’s tough to succeed at the higher altitudes of professional sports. Tougher is to sustain that performance level under pressure, which rises alongside the reputation of a sportsperson. After a stellar 2024, when she claimed individual and team gold at the Chess Olympiad, Divya Deshmukh has done better this year. Winning the women’s World Cup and qualifying for the Candidates, securing the Grandmaster title — she has not exactly exceeded expectations. Just that it all happened quicker than expected. The player from Nagpur has decided to test herself in rougher waters. The best way to do it is…

If chess were to name a year after a player, 2025 might well be the ‘Year of Pragg’. The youngster has won three top competitions and was in contention in most of the events he didn’t win. R Praggnanandhaa did not just take the stage by storm with his innovations and powers of calculation. He showed he has added solidity to his game and he can do it day in and day out. The FIDE World Cup in Goa from October 31 to November 27 completes a mini-circle. It was at this event in 2023 that Pragg announced himself on…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay The rise of the leading trio of Indian chess happened at such a rapid pace that the progress made by others got blurred. It’s not only about D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa. There are several players close to breaking into the elite league. Some of them will participate in the FIDE World Cup in Goa from October 30 to November 27. P Harikrishna and Vidit Gujrathi have spent many seasons in the circuit. Both were members of last year’s Olympiad gold-winning team. Who else to look forward to? In a list of five, the first few…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay Can Arjun Erigaisi qualify for Candidates 2026? He couldn’t make it in 2024, when a record number of three Indians made the cut. One of the handful of players in history to have crossed the 2800 mark in Elo ratings, an individual gold-winner at the Olympiad last year and a career-best ranking of world No. 3 — at 22, he has achieved things that can take a lifetime. Yet, there is a vacuum. The FIDE World Cup in Goa from October 30 to November 27 is Erigaisi’s best chance to fill that gap. The biggest reward in this…

Tracking the FIDE World Cup is a good way to study the evolution of Indian chess at the highest level. Viswanathan Anand’s reign, then a long period of lull, followed by the emergence of the next generation, and gradually, the number of title contenders multiplying — India’s history in this tournament describes in details every chapter of this journey. A bunch of favourites (2025) The upcoming one first. Goa is hosting the 2025 edition of this knockout event (October 30 to November 27) and the Indians are a formidable force. D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi are heading a…