All posts tagged: Vishy Anand

Kolkata comes alive as Anand and Arjun deliver a classic at Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz | Chess News

Kolkata comes alive as Anand and Arjun deliver a classic at Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz | Chess News

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Kolkata has always been a sports-loving city. The people here support every sport equally, and that includes chess. Since its inception in 2018, the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz tournament has been a point of pride for the city, with hundreds of enthusiasts turning up each year regardless of the playing field. This year, however, has seen a dip in enthusiasm compared to the previous edition. The absence of a major draw, the world’s most famous chess player, Magnus Carlsen, whose 2024 visit generated immense buzz in the City of Joy, alongside the non-participation of D Gukesh, made the atmosphere noticeably quieter. But Thursday was different. The Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium was almost full, and the energy was visibly higher. It was the day Arjun Erigaisi was set to lock horns with Viswanathan Anand. The matchup between Anand and Arjun — the only two players to finish on the podium at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship — was tipped to be the game of the tournament. And when the game’s “mad man” faces …

Global Chess League 2025: Alpine SG Pipers sink reigning champs to win title

Global Chess League 2025: Alpine SG Pipers sink reigning champs to win title

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Alpine SG Pipers upset two-time defending champions Triveni Continental Kings to be crowned champions of the 2025 Global Chess League (GCL) on Tuesday. The Pipers, who had sealed the final berth by the skin of their teeth, were at their dominant best in the final as they won the first rapid match 4-2 with black pieces and then scored a 4.5-1.5 win with white. PBG Alaskan Knights finished third after beating Ganges Grandmasters in a tie-break. The finale of the Global Chess League lived up to the hype as the final day turned out to be as topsy-turvy as the league stage. Triveni Continental Kings went into the final as favourites but the Pipers, who found form in the second half of the league stage, would have felt that the momentum was in their favour. And that was exactly the case as Nino Batsiashvili and Leon Luke Mendonca, on the prodigy board, once again proved how valuable they have been to the team by winning their respective games. Nino prevailed over Alexandra Kosteniuk in a …

Why Vishy Anand prescribes a ‘take it easy policy’ for teenage world beaters

Why Vishy Anand prescribes a ‘take it easy policy’ for teenage world beaters

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Does the current generation of teenage prodigies that’s in a tearing hurry to complete their hostile takeover of the chess world need to pause every once in a while to recharge their mental batteries? Do Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and others from their generation like Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov need to manage their work loads? If you ask Viswanathan Anand, the veritable godfather of Indian chess, they certainly must. Currently in Bucharest for the ongoing Superbet Chess Classic Romania event, Anand was asked by Cristian Chirila, who is a second to Fabiano Caruana, if the five-time world champion had any advice for the younger generation of stars about what they should focus on while training considering that the international calendar is pregnant with events. Story continues below this ad “What should they focus on?” prodded Chirila, asking Anand about the upcoming generation in general without naming any names in particular. It’s a question you reckon that a few members of India’s golden generation of grandmasters would have asked themselves, if not Anand directly, at some point …

When Viswanathan Anand won eight rupees as prize money for winning an event

When Viswanathan Anand won eight rupees as prize money for winning an event

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Viswanathan Anand is one of the richest chess players in the country at the moment, having racked up plenty of prize money from his exploits around the world, including winning the coveted World Chess Championship five times. But there was a time when a much younger Anand had won just eight rupees as prize money for winning a junior tournament. Anand revealed this in an interview with The Bombay Journey recently while being driven around his home city of Chennai. Asked about the costs involved in being an elite grandmaster and the prize money top chess players can make, Anand said: “I remember once in my chess club they had a small tournament and first prize was eight rupees. So I thought I can treat myself. I (won and) took this eight rupees. There’s a hotel right behind the chess club, so I went there had a full dosa and sambar and I had one drink of some juice. I could pay for it with my prize money, so it was a good thing.” Anand …

Why Viswanathan Anand is Godfather to India’s golden generation like Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa

Why Viswanathan Anand is Godfather to India’s golden generation like Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa

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On a sunny morning earlier this month, the who’s who of Indian chess gathered at the Chennai residence of Viswanathan Anand. There were so many grandmasters and other titled players in attendance — Sandipan Chanda, Sasikiran, RB Ramesh, Srinath Narayanan, Adhiban, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali, Vidit Gujrathi, to just name a handful — that it looked like a chess Avengers convention was in town. For the outsider, this would have played on the internet trope that has gained popularity over the past couple of years: Vishy was assembling his army. But rather than plotting their next phase of world domination of the 64 squares, some of India’s top grandmasters were at Anand’s house for a rare moment of relaxed bonhomie. And a traditional South Indian breakfast. There was unchecked mirth in the air and plenty of games, none of them over a chessboard. At one point, there were carefully-curated traditional rituals for Vidit and his fiance Dr Nidhi Kataria, with the ceremony officiated by Anand’s wife and manager, Aruna. There were games for chess couples and …

Vidit Gujrathi’s good-natured joke at Magnus Carlsen and Nepo

Vidit Gujrathi’s good-natured joke at Magnus Carlsen and Nepo

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The decision of Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi to share the World Blitz Championship title on New Year’s Eve in New York is still being talked about. At a recent Pongal celebration hosted by five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand and his wife Aruna Anand at their home in Chennai, there were a few jokes about titles being shared. Anand and Aruna hosted many of India’s top grandmasters like Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali, RB Ramesh and Srinath Narayanan besides Vidit Gujrathi and his fiancé Nidhi. There were many ceremonies, some hosted specially for the soon-to-be-wed Vidit Gujrathi. During one of the ritual ceremonies, Vidit Gujrathi and his fiancé had to pull out a chess piece from inside a vessel of milk. With the score at 1-1, Aruna made a joke that left the legendary Vishy Anand and the others in splits. “Anand, he’s saying they are sharing title,” Aruna said. The comment was a clear reference to Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi who shared the 2024 World Blitz Chess Championship. Aruna’s remark was quickly followed by a …

Watch: Vishy Anand, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi dance during ceremony for Vidit’s fiance | Chess News

Watch: Vishy Anand, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi dance during ceremony for Vidit’s fiance | Chess News

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Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan hosted Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrath, and his fiance for breakfast on Sunday. The Grandmasters, dressed in traditional attire, were seen showing their dance moves in the video released on social media. Though the players were hesitant initially, they soon followed the lead of their mentor Anand and danced. Vidit to tie knot with Nidhi Katia In November last year Vidit has announced he will be marrying Nidhi Katia. “It’s official now! Getting married soon!” Vidit wrote in a social media post. Not accepting rishtas anymore, It’s official now ! ♥️Getting married soon! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/NWe267LdOu — Vidit Gujrathi (@viditchess) November 25, 2024 Vidit played a crucial part in India’s win Budapest earlier in September. The 30-year-old was inchagre of Board Four and earned 7.5 points out of 10 for the nation. “Vidit has been having good performances in general. Some tournaments go badly for him. But in general, in most of the recent tournaments, he has had decent performances. Here he’s played very positive chess,” said RB Ramesh to The Indian …

Gukesh’s father Rajinikanth reveals how the team of youngest world chess champion was built | Chess News

Gukesh’s father Rajinikanth reveals how the team of youngest world chess champion was built | Chess News

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Gukesh’s father Rajinikanth explained how the team of his son, which helped him become the youngest world chess champion, was built before the final showdown against Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship in Singapore. I don’t even know when they decided to include mainly Keymer,” Rajnikanth told ChessBase India. “I know Hari was already there in the candidates, even Hari (Pentala Harikrishna) was Gukesh’s choice for candidates. So he decided that he will take Hari and so they were working for candidates also. So I think for the candidates Hari, Radosław Wojtaszek were already there. “They were already part of the team. Jan Klimkowski was helping, but we never met him personally. So he was helping online, maybe he was working with Grzegorz Gajewski, all those things for the candidates. But after the candidates, he didn’t. “Jan-Krzysztof Duda was helping him as a training partner before the candidates themselves. For the Candidates mainly the team was Hari, Radosław and Gajewski, with Duda helping for online games whenever Gukesh wanted to play some online training …

Full list of world champions since 1886

Full list of world champions since 1886

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World Chess Championship: Starting from November 25, 18-year-old Gukesh will made an audacious bid to become the youngest-ever winner of the prestigious World Chess Championship. If he succeeds in defeating Ding Liren, who currently wears the crown, Gukesh will be the 18th world champion in history. This will be the first time that both the players competing in the World Chess Championship will be from Asia. Fittingly, the World Chess Championship match — which will be a battle spanning 14 games (plus tiebreaks if necessary) — will be contested in another Asian country as Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa hosts the showpiece event. Garry Kasparov (left) greets Gukesh (right) before the teenager’s match against Magnus Carlsen earlier this year at theSuperbet Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament. (Photo Courtesy Lennart Ootes) Many grandmasters have picked Gukesh as the favourite. This list includes Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri and grandmasters Pravin Thipsay and Abhijit Kunte. Other grandmasters like Viswanathan Anand have given a note of caution for the teenage challenger. Gukesh thrives in classical chess. …

World Chess Championship: Why Gukesh thrives in classical chess | Chess News

World Chess Championship: Why Gukesh thrives in classical chess | Chess News

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Eleven years ago, as Viswanathan Anand jousted against Magnus Carlsen with the world champion’s crown on the line, a boy barely seven years of age and his father made their way into the Hyatt Regency in Chennai to catch that action live. The boy was just starting to make his first tentative moves on the chessboard and his father thought watching two greats trade punches would be a good nudge for him into the sport. That day, there were no spots free for the duo to sit, so both of them lined up behind the seats in the spectator area and watched the action standing up. In a few days’ time, Carlsen became the 16th world champion in the sport. Just over a decade since that heady moment, chess could witness another turn-of-the-page moment: that seven-year-old boy who stood and watched the game is now bidding to join Carlsen and Anand as the 18th world champion. When Gukesh takes on the reigning world champion Ding Liren in Singapore from next week in a 14-game royal …