HEADLINE OF THE WEEK
Prague Masters 2025 R3: Amazing Aravindh outwits Wei, now World no.16, Praggnanandhaa World no.7
Aravindh Chithambaram continues his terrific form at 7th Prague International Chess Festival 2025 Masters. Once again, he played fantastic chess to beat Wei Yi (CHN). Aravindh is now World no.16 with a live rating of 2740.1. He has also taken an early sole lead 2.5/3. It is not every day when Wei loses two out of the first three games in a strong super tournament like this. R Praggnanandhaa scored his first win of the event against Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE). The Czech Republic no.2 went for an incorrect break in the middlegame and paid a heavy price for it. GM Sasikiran Krishnan and GM Raja Rithvik R won their second consecutive games respectively. The fourth round for Masters, Challengers and Futures, and Round 3 Open starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
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LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK
Grand Chess Tour 2025: Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa named full tour participants for the second year in-a-row
Grand Chess Tour 2025 season full tour participants names have been revealed. Out of the nine full tour participants, there are two Indians - D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa. The remaining seven are - Alireza Firouzja (FRA), GCT 2022 and 2024 winner, Fabiano Caruana (USA), World no.2 and GCT 2023 winner, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), World Blitz 2021 champion, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB), World Rapid 2021 champion, Wesley So (USA), GCT 2021 winner, Levon Aronian (USA), only two-time World Cup winner in history and Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL), World Cup 2021 winner. For the second consecutive year, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa have been named as full tour participants. However, the World no.4, Arjun Erigaisi's name is shockingly missing from the list. Photo: Grand Chess Tour
Mitrabha Guha wins ₹480000 at Kaun Banega Crorepati
GM Mitrabha Guha is the 72nd Grandmaster of India and the inaugural Commonwealth Rapid Gold medalist. He has won a lot of accolades and tournaments. However, his recent one is becoming the first Indian Grandmaster to get into the hot seat in front of the legend, Amitabh Bachchan and participate in the Kaun Banega Crorepati. The globally popular quiz show is an Indian adaptation of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Mitrabha talks about his journey in chess, the hardships he has faced, how he overcame them and his next goals. He joins the rare statistic of a GM appearing on an iteration of WWTBAM along with GM James Plaskett and the 13th World Champion - GM Garry Kasparov. Watch the entire episode on demand at SonyLiv website or app (SonyLiv subscription required). Photo: SonyLiv
Mahel Boyer wins 41st Cappelle la Grande Open 2025, Iniyan second and Raja Rithvik third
IM Mahel Boyer (FRA) and GM Iniyan Pa scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 each at 41st Cappelle la Grande Open 2025. Mahel won the tournament due to better tie-breaks, Iniyan was placed second. Seven players scored 7/9 each. Out of them, GM Raja Rithvik R and GM Pranesh M were placed third and fourth respectively. The total prize fund was €12000. IM Muthaiah Al scored 6.5/9 to finish tenth. The seven-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by L'Echiquier Cappellois at Palais des Arts et des Loisirs in Cappelle la Grande, France from 15th to 21st February 2025.
Gukesh receives Times of India Sportsperson of the Year 2024 award
On 22nd February 2025, D Gukesh received TOISA (The Times of India Sports Award) 2024 for Sportsperson of the Year (Men) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The 18th World Champion and 45th Chess Olympiad double Gold medalist also got Chess Player of the Year award. 45th Women Chess Olympiad double Gold medalist, IM Vantika Agrawal got a special recognition in chess. All India Chess Federation also got a special recognition for its role in the grand success of Indian chess players in recent times. Check out some moments from the event and get to know the reigning World Champion's thoughts he shared at the event. Photo: The Times of India
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