The sport of chess is growing rapidly in terms of coverage and fandom, with India and the USA at the forefront of this global surge. Their top players — including D Gukesh and Hikaru Nakamura — will face off in a unique competition this October. Here’s all you need to know.
Not only did Magnus Carlsen recreate the 26-piece position perfectly after looking at the board from a game that was played nearly 70 years ago, he also played the next set of moves that were nearly identical to how it panned out in the original game.
Chess is set to make its debut at the Esports World Cup this year in Riyadh and will feature some of the top players in the world including Magnus Carlsen. Here's why it could run into trouble with FIDE, the Lausanne-based governing body.
World No 1 Magnus Carlsen's ongoing feud with world governing body FIDE shows no signs of thawing with CEO Emil Sutovsky targeting the Norwegian icon as well as Freestyle Chess for the attire of top players the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open.
Viswanathan Anand has called the upcoming clash at Norway Chess 2025 between D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen a "perfect storm" and praised India's rising chess power. Despite recent struggles, Gukesh will look to bounce back strongly as he gets ready to face the world no.1 in Stavanger.
While D Gukesh's ability to defend his World Chess Championship crown is being questioned, Indian Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan has come out in his defence.
While Koneru Humpy won the Pune leg of FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2024-25, India's Divya Deshmukh finished third and Harika Dronavalli came joint-fourth.
With just one more round to go, the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Pune is nicely poised with Koneru Humpy and Zhu Jiner in joint lead.
Magnus Carlsen's nine-game winning streak at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open 2025 is being compared to the great Bobby Fischer's dominance at the 1963-64 US Championship. The fact the Carlsen's win came in Freestyle Chess format makes it even more special.
In another good result for India, Divya Deshmukh scored a crushing victory over Munguntuul Batkhuyag and along with Zhu is trailing half a point behind Humpy. With just two more rounds remaining of the 10-player round robin event, the race for the title will be amongst these three players.
Bulgarian chess prodigy Ivan Kukushkin made the bold statement after collecting his second win against an International Master in as many games at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open, where world No 1 Magnus Carlsen has already been crowned champion with a round to spare.
Magnus Carlsen showed no mercy as he spotted his opponent Victor Mikhalevski wearing a wristwatch during their match at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open. Carlsen leads the standings after five rounds.
Reigning Classical world champion D Gukesh is yet to make his mark in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, enduring a winless run in the opening leg in Weissenhaus before finishing winless in the second event in Paris.
In a chat with the Paris Grand Slam commentary team, Magnus Carlsen explained how he managed to "shut" Hikaru Nakamura out completely in the final while talking about the world No 2's "psychological" issue against him.
R Vaishali secured her first win at the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Pune on Friday as she defeated IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul. China’s Zhu Jiner stays in sole lead.
With some of the world's best players in action, Freestyle Chess has been dominating the conversation so far in 2025, having successfully conducted events in Weissenhaus and in Paris in a span of four months with the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open currently underway.
Hans Niemann was to make his Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour debut in Paris earlier this month, but staged a last-minute withdrawal without offering a proper explanation for the same. The American Grandmaster, however, showed up at the Grenke event, where world No 1 Magnus Carlsen is among the players in action.
Magnus Carlsen's former main second has questioned D Gukesh's ability to defend his chess world title in 2026. Jon Ludvig Hammer said that the challengers at the moment are as good as the world champion at the moment.
Koneru Humpy outclassed Divya Deshmukh while Zhu Jiner took the sole lead after Round 3 of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Pune. Dronavalli Harika and Munguntuul Batkhuyag also scored big wins.
Ju Wenjun defeated fellow chinese Grandmaster Tan Zhongyi to clinch her fifth FIDE Women’s World Championship title.
Magnus Carlsen defeated Hikaru Nakamura in a blockbuster final in Paris to be crowned champion after falling short in Weissenhaus while Arjun Erigaisi impresses on debut, finishing fourth at the end of the round-robin stage and fifth in the final standings in the second event.
Indian chess sensation D Gukesh has reflected on his struggles in Freestyle Chess after finishing 11th in the Paris leg of the Grand Slam Tour 2025. Meanwhile, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen clinched the title in Paris after defeating Hikaru Nakamura in the finals.
Arjun Erigaisi put up an impressive performance in his maiden appearance in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Paris, the remaining Indians found themselves occupying three spots in the bottom four with D Gukesh flopping for the second time in as many events.
After suffering a semi-final exit in in the opening event in Weissenhaus, Magnus Carlsen bounced back in style in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, defeating Hikaru Nakamura in the final by a 1.5-0.5 scoreline.
Magnus Carlsen holds Hikaru Nakamura to a draw in Game 2 to win the 'El Chessico' final in Paris by a 1.5-0.5 scoreline and pocket a prize money of $200,000. Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile, finishes fifth on Freestyle Chess debut, beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to the spot.
Freestyle Chess Finals Highlights: Magnus Carlsen holds Hikaru Nakamura to a draw in Game 2 of their blockbuster final to defeat the American GM 1.5-0.5 and win the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. Fabiano Caruana finishes third while Arjun Erigaisi and Ian Nepomniachtchi finish fifth and seventh respectively.
Hikaru Nakamura was steering Game 1 of his blockbuster showdown with Magnus Carlsen towards a draw when his decision to advance his bishop in the 35th move proved fatal, allowing the world No 1 to seize the lead.
Freestyle Chess Finals Highlights: Hikaru Nakamura commits a late blunder to allow Magnus Carlsen to win Game 1 of their blockbuster final after putting up a solid fight for a majority of the game. Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile, defeats Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in 41 moves to go 1-0 up in their fifth-place playoff.
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 has implemented strict anti-cheating measures in Paris. The event's chief arbiter Gerhard Bertagnolli has said that surveillance is "close to CIA-level." This comes amid speculations over Hans Niemann's sudden withdrawal from the Paris leg hours after new security measures were revealed.
Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura advanced to the final of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour event in Paris after defeating Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer respectively in the semi-finals. Arjun Erigaisi, on the other hand, is set to battle for the fifth place with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi.