Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

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…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay The protagonists were different but the initial and raw emotions the same. Divya Deshmukh was hugging her mother and crying after winning the Women’s Chess World Cup in Batumi in Georgia, exactly like D Gukesh threw himself into his father, unable to control tears after becoming the youngest-ever world champion in Singapore last December. This is arguably the second-biggest title in the women’s game. Before Divya and Koneru Humpy — who she beat on tie-breaker in the final — no Indian had reached the final. The reigning world junior girls’ (U-20) champion’s success in this knockout event is…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay It’s tempting to find similarities between the triumph of D Gukesh against Ding Liren of China in last year’s World Championship match, and Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh beating Chinese opponents to set up an all-India final in the ongoing Women’s Chess World Cup. The first is the biggest title in chess and the second the second-biggest prize in the women’s game. It’s a big coincidence that Indian players slew heavyweights from the Red Dragon to win these competitions. That’s where the similarity ends. Ding is from China and he won the world crown before Gukesh alright, but…

The normally staid ambience of Indian golf is waking up to some action. A new and ambitious venture called the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) has been launched and the first edition is expected later this year. Inspired by IPL to an extent, this franchise-based, six-team league will be played on a home-and-away basis. Each team will have 10 players including women pros. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union spots minister, was present at the launch recently. The IGPL has also tied up with Women’s Golf Association of India and Indian Golf Union, which runs amateur golf and selects teams for Asian…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay Asked what she wants to do after achieving her best performance till date at a senior, individual event, the first thing Divya Deshmukh said was she wanted to doze off. “I just want to have some sleep and food,” the first Indian to reach the Women’s Chess World Cup final told the official broadcaster in Batumi in Georgia. The drama on the board hardly let anybody sleep though. Divya looked like winning a few times against China’s Tan Zongyi, a former world champion who lost this year’s World Championship bout against compatriot Ju Wenjun. Divya kept missing the…

Hosting the FIDE World Cup later this year will be a fitting feather in the cap for the latest superpower in chess. The world body of the game announced on Monday (July 21) that the 2025 edition will be held in India from October 30 to November 27. A total of 206 players including some top names will be in action in the biennial event played in a knockout format. The venue is yet to be named. “Further details, including the announcement of the host city, will be released in due course,” said a FIDE statement. However, as per early…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay India versus China — there is a subplot brewing in the heat of the women’s chess World Cup. There were four Indians and three Chinese in the quarter-finals. Now, it’s come down to two versus two. Going by world rankings and performances in big events, it’s advantage China. But having come this far and given a good account of themselves in the process, the Indians will be formidable underdogs. Koneru Humpy admits that as far as aspirations go as a chess player, she doesn’t think about winning the big prizes anymore. “I used to think of becoming the…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay The World Cup is a good reference point to study the phenomenal rise of India’s chess prodigies. In the 2023 edition of the biennial event in Azerbaijan, four Indians made it to the quarterfinals in the open section. R Praggnanandhaa finished runner-up. It was the first sign of the wave that subsequently saw players from the country win some of the biggest prizes on offer. Zoom into the women’s World Cup 2025 being played in Georgia. Four Indians are in the quarterfinals for the first time. Divya Deshmukh has knocked out the world No. 6 and Koneru Humpy…

Thanks to Viswanathan Anand and the generation of players known as his ‘children’, India has won almost everything at the highest level. After the five-time world chess champion cut down on competing, the country has found a Candidates and world champion in D Gukesh. The men’s and women’s teams have won the Olympiad gold. Even the world junior (U-20) champions are Indians. The biggest prize missing is the women’s world championship crown in the classical format. Progress in this section has been slower compared to the rapid strides made in the open segment. Koneru Humpy came the closest but…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay There was something familiar for the hardcore India fan in the team’s capitulation while chasing a victory target of 193 in the third Test against England. It wasn’t the resistance of Ravindra Jadeja and the last two batters. Broadening the canvas, one could see that this is becoming a trend — India following up one spirited performance in an away Test by crumbling in the subsequent ones. South Africa in 2021-22, India were 1-0 up and lost the next two along with the series. England in 2021-22, in the series played over two trips, India were 1-0 and…