India Chess Wrap, May 15: Praggnanandhaa still in contention as Gukesh opens account at Superbet Classic
When Aronian pushed his central pawns, Gukesh responded boldly by bringing his king into the centre. It was an unusual decision, but it worked in his favour, giving him control and helping him turn the game around.
From there, Gukesh gradually took control, defending accurately and activating his rooks. His h-file pawn became a serious threat, and with no good moves left, Aronian resigned. Gukesh's brave use of his king played a key role in the victory.
After going winless for seven rounds, Gukesh finally broke through and moved up to ninth place with 3.5 points. He may not be in the running for the title, but another Indian, Praggnanandhaa, led the standings after a vital win against Wesley So. His final opponent? Aronian. The last round takes place on 16 May.
Nihal Sarin books World Cup spot
Meanwhile, at the Asian Individual Chess Championships in Abu Dhabi, Nihal Sarin pulled off a brilliant win in the final round against tournament leader Bardiya Daneshwar, completing a stunning turnaround. Sarin, who had been in tenth place, won his last four games to finish with 7 points — equal with Daneshwar, who took first place on tie-breaks. This strong finish earned Sarin a spot in the World Cup, to be held in India later this year.
He will be joined by five other Indian players who also qualified: Pa. Iniyan, R. Raja Rithvik, S.L. Narayanan, M. Pranesh, and G.B. Harshvardhan — making it a strong performance for India.
In the women's section, Vantika Agrawal was the highest-placed Indian, finishing fourth.
Elsewhere, the Women's Grand Prix in Austria concluded with Anna Muzychuk winning the tournament. She held off a strong challenge from India's R. Vaishali, who needed a win in the final round to stay in the race. Despite a brave effort, Vaishali drew the game and finished fourth with 5 points — a solid result in a competitive field.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
26 minutes ago
- Economic Times
JioStar posts Rs 581 crore net profit in Q1 driven by IPL
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads JioStar, the joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Walt Disney, reported a net profit of ₹581 crore for the quarter ended June, according to RIL's quarterly financial company recorded an EBITDA of ₹1,017 crore and operating revenue of ₹9,601 crore, driven by the strong performance of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. This comes despite ongoing challenges in the entertainment segment due to reduced FMCG advertising said the IPL delivered its highest-ever revenue across TV and digital this year. JioStar holds both TV and digital rights for the IPL in the Indian the TV entertainment segment continued to face pressure, the impact was offset by strong sports and subscription revenues. The company finalised subscription deals with all major distribution operators, aiding better monetisation and tighter cost the FY25 period spanning November 14, 2024, to March 31, 2025, JioStar reported a net profit of ₹229 crore on operating revenue of ₹9,497 crore, with an EBITDA of ₹774 November 14, 2024, RIL and Disney completed the merger of Star India and Viacom18, forming JioStar. RIL controls the JV with a 56% stake, Disney holds 37%, and the remaining 7% is owned by Bodhi Tree the latest quarter, JioStar's streaming platform, JioHotstar, saw its subscriber base surge to 287 million during the IPL season, fuelled by its hybrid advertising and subscription model with limited free access. On television, JioStar reached more than 800 million viewers during the company also expanded its footprint in the Free-To-Air (FTA) Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) segment with the relaunch of Star Utsav and Colors Rishtey on DD Free Dish. It had a 35.5% share in the entertainment TV 2025 marked a watershed moment for JioStar, achieving a combined reach of 1.19 billion viewers across TV—primarily Star Sports—and JioHotstar. The platform drew 652 million digital viewers, a 28% year-on-year increase, making it JioHotstar's most successful IPL season to television, the tournament delivered a 5.1 TVR and clocked over 514 billion minutes of watch time. The IPL 2025 final set a new digital benchmark, becoming the most-watched T20 match ever online with 237 million viewers and a peak concurrency of 55.2 million, surpassing the previous high of 35.9 million. The final also drew 189 million viewers on TV, making it the most-watched IPL match in broadcast the IPL, JioStar's sports portfolio featured marquee events such as the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final. The network also secured exclusive digital streaming rights for India's five-Test series against England from Sony Pictures Networks India, further strengthening its sports recorded its highest-ever monthly entertainment watch time in June 2025. The latest season of Criminal Justice delivered the strongest opening for any OTT original this year, according to Ormax Media, while Kesari 2 emerged as the most-watched film across all languages on the content continued to gain traction. Captain America: Brave New World debuted as the second most-watched film of the quarter, while Mufasa: The Lion King became the most-watched international film ever on Plus retained its leadership in the Hindi GEC segment, with six of the top ten shows during the general entertainment channels also performed strongly. Star Pravah, Star Jalsha, Star Maa, and Asianet continued to lead in their respective markets. The network also maintained its dominance in niche genres such as kids, youth, and English entertainment.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
26 minutes ago
- Business Standard
'It was not intentional,' says Pratika Rawal on England shoulder contact
India batter Pratika Rawal on Friday clarified that her shoulder contact with England cricketers during the first Women's ODI was "not intentional" after she was fined and handed one demerit point by the ICC. The ICC had earlier imposed a 10 per cent match fee fine and handed a demerit point to Rawal for breaching its Code of Conduct, saying the Indian batter engaged in avoidable physical contact with England's Lauren Filer and Sophie Ecclestone in the 18th and 19th overs. It was not intentional. I was just running in my way and that shoulder barge thing was completely out of... It was not deliberate in that sense, Rawal told the media on the eve of the second ODI here. I don't think there is a (need to have a) reaction to it or maybe (make) a fuss out of it. It was not intentional, she added on the incident that took place at Southampton. England were also fined five per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate during the opening ODI which India won by four wickets. The ICC said both Rawal and England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt "accepted their respective sanctions" imposed by the match referee. Rawal said India are focussing on one game at a time given they are coming off a 3-2 win in the five-match T20I series and need only one win from next two matches to win the ODI series. We are taking just one game at a time. Currently, our prime focus is to win this series. To win the next match, we are already up in the series. Our prime focus is to win this series with 3-0, that will be great, she said. Also, what I feel like, keeping one thing at a time, it helps with better focus and better concentration so we are just on that note, she added. The right-handed top-order batter said scoring against teams like England Australia with whom India will play three ODIs before the World Cup at home will give her a lot of confidence. The opener made a 51-ball 36 in the first match that India won by four wickets. Scoring well against teams like England and Australia gives you a lot of confidence and when we get a lot of matches against them, it builds a type of confidence that is required in the upcoming series and matches, Rawal said. It's a great initiative to play as many matches as we can. Also, the fact that the way our team is progressing right now is amazing and there has been a lot of contribution from all the players, she added.
News18
35 minutes ago
- News18
Nitish Reddy On The Cusp Of Breaking Yuvraj Singh's Record At Old Trafford
Last Updated: India's Nitish Reddy is nearing Yuvraj Singh's Test bowling record ahead of the fourth Test against England. Reddy has 8 wickets in 7 matches; Yuvraj had 9 in 40 Tests. India all-rounder Nitish Reddy is on the cusp of breaking legendary Yuvraj Singh's record in Test cricket. India are gearing up for the fourth Test against England, which, starting July 23 at Old Trafford in Manchester. Reddy, who has yet to produce an impactful performance, will look to get back to rhythm when he takes the field against the hosts next week. Though Reddy has been struggling with the bat, he justified his selection with the ball on multiple occasions. Last year, he hogged the limelight with a cracking century in Australia, which was his maiden ton in the longest format of the game. However, he has been far from his best coming to England. After getting benched in the Leeds Test, Reddy replaced Shardul Thakur in the line-up. He scored just 2 runs (1 & 1) at Edgbaston and managed 43 runs (30 & 13) at Lord's. With the ball, he returned 3 for 82 in the third Test, which included the crucial wickets of England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. If he gets picked for the fourth Test in Manchester, he can go past Yuvraj Singh's bowling record. Yuvraj finished his Test career with 9 wickets. On the other hand, Nitish already has 8 wickets to his name in 7 matches. The former all-rounder represented India in 40 Test matches, but couldn't establish his authority with the ball. On the contrary, Yuvraj retired with 1900 runs, including 3 centuries and 11 fifties. India may have breached the walls of Edgbaston for the first time earlier this series, but Old Trafford in Manchester still stands as an unconquered frontier. The venue has never been kind to the Indian team. India have played nine Tests here and failed to win a single one — with four losses and five draws. The last Test India played at this venue was back in 2014, when they were thrashed by an innings and 54 runs. Off the current squad, only Ravindra Jadeja and head coach Gautam Gambhir featured in that match. No other member of this team has faced the Old Trafford challenge before. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
