Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

The world chess witnessed what can be called the controversial moment of the year. In a departure from tradition, Hikaru Nakamura plucked out D Gukesh’sblack king from the board after beating him and tossed it towards the spectators seated in front. Nakamura waved frantically towards the crowd like a football star as Gukesh sat on his chair. Throwing the opponent’s king away after winning a game is unheard of in this game. The stage was “Checkmate: USA vs India”, an exhibition event played in Arlington, USA. The USA team whitewashed the Indians 5-0. That got overshadowed by Nakamura’s unconventional even…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay There appears to be something called the world champion’s syndrome in chess. In the aftermath of winning the title, the player hits a downward trail. It happened to Ding Liren following his triumph in 2023. After dethroning the Chinese last year, D Gukesh is in a seemingly similar situation. At world No. 11, he is not out of the elite zone. Neither is it comparable with Ding’s steep fall. But this is after a long time that the Indian is not in the top 10. It’s more of a point to note rather than an alarm. Other than…

Not every success story ends in victory. R Praggnanandhaa came within a handshaking distance of his fourth title of the year before losing in a tie-breaker to finish joint-second in the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis in USA. The outcome confirmed his place in the four-player final round of the Global Chess Tour to be played in Sao Paulo next month. It was a day when almost everything went to plan for the 20-year-old, with a little help from D Gukesh. Pragg realised early into his ninth and final round game against Armenian Levon Aronian that a win was difficult.…

The FIDE World Cup, one of the most important events on the international chess circuit, will be held in Goa from October 30 to November 27. India had earlier been announced as the host nation. On Tuesday came the confirmation that the tournament will take place in Goa. Chennai, Delhi, and Ahmedabad were also in contention, but Goa received the nod for everything it offers. “Goa’s stunning beaches, vibrant culture, and warm hospitality make it an exciting backdrop for this global showdown. Players and fans will experience world-class chess alongside a destination famous for its energy and charm,” FIDE president…

HS Prannoy had pulled off a heist in the BWF World Championships in 2023. Trailing against runaway favourite Viktor Axelsen at his den in Copenhagen, the half-fit Indian produced a stunner to win that quarter-final. His bronze ensured the country’s record of returning with at least one medal from badminton’s biggest competition since 2011 remained intact. The other contenders had lost. Prannoy delivered against the Dane, who was the top seed and towering above him in every respect. He was jaded, but summoned an outburst of energy to cause the upset of the event. That record seems to be going…

When the year started, all eyes in chess were on D Gukesh. The world champion was the talking point. Quietly, another player from Chennai was plotting a comeback. Nearly eight months, three tournament-wins and some healthy gains in the world rankings later, R Praggnanandhaa is one of the players of 2025. He is hanging in at the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis in the US, at joint second after Round 6, with three more to go. Gukesh is fifth in the field of 10 players. Five of the world’s top 10 are taking part in the event. Pragg is gradually…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay Khanderi is almost a godforsaken place on the Rajkot-Jamnagar Highway. It’s about 20 kms from the heart of Rajkot. Until a few years ago, it was difficult to get there due to lack of commute options. The place became famous after the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium came up there — a giant structure in the middle of nowhere. Now, of course, it’s called the Niranjan Shah Stadium. On international match days, the place comes alive and lies forlorn for the rest of the year. That is not the story. Beyond that stadium, in a place called Taragadi, further…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay Known mostly as the father of Leander Paes, Vece Paes was an exceptional personality in the Indian sporting ecosystem. After a distinguished career as a hockey player, during which he won a bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics, he turned to his profession of medicine and remained associated with sports. In his death in Kolkata at the age of 80, the fraternity lost someone who understood their pain. Almost everything in Paes’s life was about sports. Leander’s mother, Jennifer, was the captain of the Indian basketball team. Leander, of course, became the most famous sporting figure to…

What is Duleep Trophy? It’s supposed to be a fairly prestigious domestic first-class tournament, which some of the most distinguished of cricket personalities don’t care about. And they are right. Why should anyone bother about something which can at best can get you to some godforsaken place in the middle of nowhere. Happening people don’t go there. Ironically, ‘happen’ is the word which has kept this competition alive for some 60-plus years. Through turbulence, negligence and irrelevance. There were years when it was not held. There were experiments. Teams from England, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh played in it. For one year, it…

Atreyo Mukhopdhyay The ‘live ratings’ help understand the task Divya Deshmukh will be facing after winning the women’s chess World Cup in Georgia two days ago. These are unofficial, real-time calculations of a player’s rating based on the results of their games in major tournaments. They reflect the rating changes after each game. The current list shows that the top five women in the world are from China. It has been seen that the live ratings are fairly accurate. What they calculate is what is seen in the official list when it is released by FIDE every month. The live…