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INDIAN CHESS NEWS

Alireza Firouzja was the youngest to breach the 2800 Elo mark in history of chess. (PHOTO: Saint Louis Chess/Crystal Fuller)

Alireza Firouzja's rollercoaster: From being hailed as the next big thing in Chess to missing out on 2026 Candidates

January 02, 2026 12:46 pm

Firouzja is no longer the dominant force he once was, at least not in classical chess. From qualifying for two consecutive Candidates tournaments and entering them as one of the top contenders, Firouzja's stock has gradually declined.

India's D. Gukesh during a press conference at World Rapid & Blitz Championship 2025 in Doha. (PHOTO: FIDE/Anna Shtourman)

World Rapid Championship 2025: Indians in action in Open & Women's Category; Top seeds, ratings & schedule

December 26, 2025 5:03 pm

A total of 42 Indians are in action in the Rapid event, with 29 featuring in the Open category, while 13 are in the women's event.

Gukesh on World Rapid & Blitz Championship in Doha: 'Don't have lots of expectations; I'm here just to play'

December 26, 2025 12:34 am

Besides Gukesh, India's R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, P Harikrishna, Vidit Gujrathi and a whole brigade of young players, both in Open and Women's section, are in attendance

Charvi with her her mother Akhila at Norway Chess Open tournament earlier this year. (Express Photo by Amit Kamath)

At 11, Charvi, youngest participant in Women’s World Rapid and Blitz, following in footsteps of Polgar sisters

December 25, 2025 9:00 am

Charvi Anilkumar has spent the entire year playing in open events against boys and men older than her, going against the norm of girls opting to play in women’s age group events.

Praggnanandhaa finished London Chess Classic 2025 Open event as joint-winner. (PHOTO: John Saunders/London Chess Classic)

Praggnanandhaa gets closer to Candidates 2026 qualification after finishing London Chess Classic 2025 Open as joint-winner

December 04, 2025 9:59 pm

Praggnanandhaa earned 8.17 points from London Chess Classic Open event in the FIDE Circuit Leaderboard, extending his lead at the top with a total of 115.17 points from his best seven events as he gets closer to the last Candidates 2026 spot.

Indians dominating chess like never before: President Droupadi Murmu

August 14, 2025 8:12 pm

Eighteen-year-old D Gukesh's triumph as the youngest world champion last year began a season of excellent results for India's chess prodigies with the likes of R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidith Gujarati, Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh and R Vaishali delivering consistently strong performances in high pressure international events.

Praggnanandhaa won the title against an elite 10-player Masters field in Tashkent that comprised heavy-hitters like Ian Nepomniachtchi and Arjun Erigaisi, besides the Uzbek quartet of Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Yakubboev and Shamsiddin Vokhidov. (File)

RB Ramesh explains what led to Praggnanandhaa’s success in 2025: Playing ‘risky’ chess, more variety of openings and more

July 01, 2025 8:55 am

The UzChess Cup also helped Praggnanandhaa leap ahead of his compatriots like Arjun, Gukesh and Aravindh in one of the most heavily-contested battles in the sport at the moment: the race to be India’s top-ranked player, a position which comes with other perks, like invitations to elite tournaments.