All posts tagged: magnus carlsen

Gukesh, Vaishali among 5 Indians who make cut for Total Chess Tour’s pilot event | Chess News

Gukesh, Vaishali among 5 Indians who make cut for Total Chess Tour’s pilot event | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 22, 2026 08:00 AM IST Magnus Carlsen will headline the pilot event of the Total Chess World Championship Tour where as many as five Indians could compete in a field of 24 players. The pilot will be held in Budapest’s Anantara New York Palace Hotel from November 10–21 later this year. The new Total Chess World Championship Tour, which is backed by Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland, is being held to determine chess’s most complete player across blitz, rapid and fast classic formats. A joint statement from the organisers of the Total Chess World Championship Tour on Tuesday named Carlsen, thereby confirming his participation in the pilot event. 18 players so far are eligible to play in the 24-player event. Among the other 17 players who have qualified via various pathways are Gukesh Dommaraju (by courtesy of being the world champion), Vaishali R (by virtue of winning the Women’s Candidates tournament in 2026), Arjun Erigaisi (due to his bronze medal at the World Rapid Championship in 2025), Praggnanandhaa R and Viswanathan Anand (both …

Alireza Firouzja one-ups Gukesh D in 69-move nail-biter

Alireza Firouzja one-ups Gukesh D in 69-move nail-biter

Published by Webster

5 min readChennaiJul 17, 2026 10:20 PM IST Alireza Firouzja ambled out of the playing hall like he had stepped out for a casual walk in the evening. Sporting a green jumpshirt and gold-rimmed glasses, he would have looked like a tourist if it hadn’t been for the people jostling around him, recording him on their phones. His laidback demeanour hid the fact that he had just defeated Gukesh D on the world champion’s home soil in a nail-biting 69-move brawl in the second round of the Chennai Grand Masters tournament. Just a couple of months ago, the sport had confronted unusual scenes of Firouzja playing against Fabiano Caruana and Javokhir Sindarov while sprawled on a hotel bed at the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest due to an ankle injury. Eventually, he had withdrawn from the tournament. He then competed at Norway Chess on a wheelchair, mostly with his right leg propped up on a pillow. Before the Chennai Grand Masters started, he revealed that he needed extensive physiotherapy to finally start walking without support. …

When Bobby Haywood preceded Bobby Fischer, and then vanished

When Bobby Haywood preceded Bobby Fischer, and then vanished

Published by Webster

Under the sprawling canopy of a century-old elm in Washington Square Park of New York sits Marcel Anderson, a cigarette on his lip and a queen in his hand. “The edges (of the chess piece) are coming off, gosh I need to buy a new set!” he mutters to himself. And then quietly he wisecracks: “You lose the queen, you lose the battle, on the board and in your life.” Anderson, aka Marty, is one of the dozen chess hustlers in the Washington Square Park, or merely chess park, making a living out of playing and teaching chess. A crash course costs $30 an hour; a blitz game comes at $10. “You beat me, you get $10, you lose, I get the money,” says Anderson, who has an Instagram profile with 10k followers. “It’s tough to beat me,” he says with the swagger of a veteran, which he is. “(Playing for) thirty years, buddy. You beat me thrice and I give you this chair,” he chuckles, sitting on one of those wide berth NY City …

Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, missing as Magnus Carlsen returns

Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, missing as Magnus Carlsen returns

Published by Webster

2 min readJun 27, 2026 04:36 PM IST With this year’s Global Chess League ending just two days before the start of the Olympiad in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, top players like world champion Gukesh D and Praggnanandhaa R seem to have given the tournament a skip. The names of the star Indian duo was missing from the list of players that GCL announced on Saturday. The GCL will run from September 3 to 13 at Bengaluru while the Olympiad starts from September 15 and goes on till September 27. Despite the absences, the draft for the upcoming season will still feature some big names like reigning FIDE Women’s World Cup champion Divya Deshmukh, who will be making her debut in the league this season, and World Championship contender Javokhir Sindarov, who will likely lead Uzbekistan’s charge at the home Olympiad. The draft also features former world champions like Magnus Carlsen, returning after skipping last season, and Viswanathan Anand. Overall, the player pool for the draft this season will consist of 36 grandmasters. While the season will …

The night R Praggnanandhaa won Norway Chess on Magnus Carlsen’s home turf

The night R Praggnanandhaa won Norway Chess on Magnus Carlsen’s home turf

Published by Webster

6 min readJun 6, 2026 12:02 PM IST The meticulously-maintained silence of Oslo’s Deichman Bjørvika, the biggest public library in Norway, was shattered late on Friday evening by spontaneous applause that rang out from the fourth floor and reverberated till the ground floor. For the past two weeks, the Deichman has been even quieter than you would expect a library to be. It’s hosting the Norway Chess tournament after all and silence is non-negotiable. So much so, that at various times, volunteers have had to rush to the children’s playing area in the library to request parents to quieten their boisterous kids. Late on Friday evening, no one was bothering to hush anyone. R Praggnanandhaa, newly-minted Norway Chess champion, had just walked into one of the three broadcast studios and the 50 or so people who were waiting for him to autograph their chess boards broke into a well-deserved applause. The Indian grandmaster had won one of the strongest invitational tournaments on the calendar after a remarkable run in the second half of the 10-round …

R Praggnanandhaa becomes first Indian to win Norway Chess Title

R Praggnanandhaa becomes first Indian to win Norway Chess Title

Published by Webster

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa created history by becoming the first Indian to win the prestigious Norway Chess 2026 title, sealing the championship with a crucial final-round victory over Germany’s Vincent Keymer in Oslo. The 20-year-old capped a remarkable turnaround after recovering from a difficult middle phase of the tournament to emerge victorious in one of the strongest fields in world chess. Praggnanandhaa finished ahead of a star-studded lineup that included world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, reigning world champion D Gukesh, Alireza Firouzja, Wesley So and Keymer. Stunning comeback powers Praggnanandhaa to title The Indian’s title challenge appeared under threat midway through the tournament, but a series of impressive victories brought him back into contention. He registered crucial classical wins over Firouzja, Carlsen and Gukesh, setting up a dramatic final-round battle for the championship. His victory over Gukesh in Round 9 proved particularly important, keeping him within striking distance of the leaders before he delivered the decisive win against Keymer. One of the standout achievements of Praggnanandhaa’s campaign was his dominance over Carlsen. He defeated the …

Praggnanandhaa wins Norway Chess 2026 title after stunning final round victory | Chess News

Praggnanandhaa wins Norway Chess 2026 title after stunning final round victory | Chess News

Published by Webster

2 min readOslo (norway)Jun 6, 2026 12:33 AM IST India’s R Praggnanandhaa won the Norway Chess 2026 title after a classical victory over German grandmaster Vincent Keymer in the final round on Saturday at Oslo’s Deichman Bjørvika. This is the 20-year-old prodigy’s first title of the year. Pragg had a remarkable final kick at the end of the 10-round tournament, winning four classical games in a row after losing two on the trot. The win over Keymer came on the heels of Praggnanandhaa’s victories over Alireza Firouzja, world no 1 Magnus Carlsen and world champion Gukesh over the last four days. The tournament also saw Praggnanandhaa complete a double over Carlsen. After his victory over Gukesh on Thursday, Praggnanandhaa had spoken about how he had clawed back from the bottom of the table to rise to a title fight. “I’m happy that I’m still in the race because three days back I was fighting for the last spot,” Praggnanandhaa had said. “And now I have a chance at fighting. So I’ll take it.” The Gukesh …

Last day, last show at Norway Chess: Gukesh vs Magnus Carlsen to avoid last place | Chess News

Last day, last show at Norway Chess: Gukesh vs Magnus Carlsen to avoid last place | Chess News

Published by Webster

2 min readJun 5, 2026 07:51 AM IST A year after India’s D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen found themselves in a final-day race to win Norway Chess 2025, the world champion and the world no 1 are again in a final round scramble for position. Only this time, when Gukesh faces Carlsen on Friday at Oslo’s Deichman Bjørvika, they will be looking to avoid last spot in the standings while R Praggnanandhaa, Wesley So and Alireza Firouzja jockey for the top spot. It has been one of the most bruising tournaments for both Gukesh and Carlsen, with the former winning just one of his nine classical games while the Norwegian has won twice. Both players have lost four classical games each in Norway Chess. They both suffered defeats on Thursday in the penultimate round (albeit Carlsen lost in the Armageddon portion). The Indian, who turned 20 on the first rest day of the tournament, lost in the classical portion to compatriot Praggnanandhaa in just 34 moves. In the first all-Indian encounter in the first half …

Praggnanandhaa stuns Magnus Carlsen to script history

Praggnanandhaa stuns Magnus Carlsen to script history

Published by Webster

Round eight of Norway Chess 2026 delivered a pivotal day in Oslo, with two decisive classical games and one Armageddon battle adding fresh tension to the race for first place. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu produced another landmark result, defeating Magnus Carlsen once again at Norway Chess 2026 to tighten the title race. The 20-year-old, who had earlier beaten Carlsen with the white pieces last week, repeated the feat with the black pieces in Round 8, marking two classical wins over Carlsen in the same tournament. With this, Praggnanandhaa becomes only the second player after India’s legend Viswanathan Anand to defeat Carlsen twice in the same tournament, and also joins an elite group of players to have beaten the five-time World Champion three times in classical chess. R. Praggnanandhaa beats Magnus Carlsen in Round 8 of #NorwayChess ♟️🇮🇳 Pragg becomes the first Indian since Viswanathan Anand to defeat Magnus in Classical Chess twice in the same tournament, having beaten him in the 3rd round as well 🙌 pic.twitter.com/VccDbW4DFF — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) June 3, 2026 Alireza Firouzja scored …

Praggnanandhaa after beating Magnus Carlsen 2nd time in a week at Norway Chess: ‘Magnus still the best’

Praggnanandhaa after beating Magnus Carlsen 2nd time in a week at Norway Chess: ‘Magnus still the best’

Published by Webster

Magnus Carlsen jumped in his chair before leaning so far ahead towards the board that he could have whispered in the ears of his king. Trouble was brewing in the air for the crownless king of chess and his wooden king on the board. In a tense endgame, Carlsen had one move that could have ensured survival: king to e2. The clock had run down to 14 seconds when Carlsen made the 48th move — king to f4 — which lost him the game instead. Because once he had made the move, all his opponent, R Praggnanandhaa, had to do was march Carlsen’s king to its death in seven moves. For the first time since Viswanathan Anand at Linares 2007, a player — of any nationality — defeated Magnus Carlsen twice in the same classical tournament. Praggnanandhaa defeated the world no 1 from Norway for the second time in a week at the Norway Chess tournament being held at Oslo’s Deichman Bjørvika. He had also defeated the world no 1 at the 2024 Norway Chess, …