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Time of India
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Rudradaman Medtia, Nitisha Agrawal triumph in the Jaipur District Under-15 Selection Open and Girls Chess tournament
Jaipur: Rudradaman Mertia and Nitisha Agrawal emerged champions in the Jaipur District Under-15 Selection Open and Girls Chess tournament 2025 which concluded here recently at Subodh School. While Rudradaman triumphed in the open category with 6.5 points to his credit, Nitish reigned supreme in the girls section. The two-day tournament was organized by Jaipur District Chess Association (JDCA) in association with WAVES and Royal Jaipur Chess Club and Services. More than 40 international rated chess players vied for the top honours in the tourney. Local boy Rudradaman (6.5 points) was closely followed by Bhavya Gupta, who finished runner-up with 6 points. Varnit Dixit (5.5 points), Siddhant Chaturvedi (5 points) and Viraj mangal (5 points) also impressed with their excellent display. In the girls category, both Nitisha Agrawal and Aarohi Sharma ended up with 6 points but on the basis of better tie-break scores, the former was adjudged as champion. Kaivallya Goyanka (5.5 points), Shreshtha Jain (5 points), and Gaurangee Sharma (5 points), completing the top five positions. In the Royal Jaipur Open Blitz, Raj Kapoor (Elo rating 1903) claimed the title with 6.5 points. Gouransh Sharma (1799) secured second position with 6 points, while Arnav Gupta (1692) finished third with 5.5 points. In total, 20 players were awarded cash prizes along with trophies and certificates. Notably, Shreshtha Jain (1510), who bagged 3.5 points, was awarded the 'best female player'. While all the chess lovers appreciate the manner in which Waves along with Jaipur District Chess Association and Royal Jaipur Chess Club strengthen the game of chess in the city. The organizing team of Waves and Royal Jaipur Chess Club expressed gratitude to all supporting schools, students, parents, and volunteers for their active participation. The organization reaffirmed its commitment to nurturing chess at the grassroots level and announced future plans for regular coaching programs and national-level tournaments.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Meet Harikrishnan A Ra, India's 87th grandmaster
For a man chasing a grandmaster title since 2018, the final two steps were taken in the span of a few days. Harikrishnan A Ra became India's 87th grandmaster after a draw with P. Iniyan in the final game of the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France. After getting his first GM norm a few years ago, the Chennai-based player gained the next two he needed in two tournaments — gaining his second one at Andujar Open in Spain before earning the third in France — to get the highest title the sport has to offer. Harikrishnan smiles as he talks about his 'quite crazy months', as he has played seven tournaments outside India in a row now and will only return home after playing three more. He started this 10-tournament stretch at Dubai in the middle of May, then went to Croatia for a couple of events, before flying to Russia for the Asian League Teams Championship where he helped the Airports Authority of India Team claim bronze. Then there was a pitstop in Spain for another tournament where he earned his second norm, before earning this third norm at La Plagne in France. His travels are far from over: he is already on his way to Spain for another tournament before going to Portugal. While most other players take breaks between foreign trips to refresh themselves and regain mental strength, Harikrishnan prefers to go on a jet-setting tear of 9-10 tournaments at a stretch. 'This method doesn't work for many people. But if I plan to play in just two or three tournaments, usually it's going to be bad. Last year too, I played nine tournaments in a row. After four tournaments, I was not doing well. Then, in the final five, I improved my Elo rating to 2500. So bunching together tournaments usually works for me. For some reason, I get into my flow after four tournaments. This year too, after four tournaments, I got my two norms back-to-back,' Harikrishnan tells The Indian Express. When he earned this third norm on Friday, one of the first calls Harikrishnan made was to his coach, GM Shyamsundar Mohanraj, who runs Chess Thulir in Chennai, and was also responsible for India getting its 86th GM, Srihari LR. Usually, every time Harikrishnan sets off to play in a series of tournaments, he spells out a goal to his coach. It could be 'I'll only return after becoming a grandmaster' or 'I'll return with a 2600 rating'. So now that a seven-year-wait has ended, Shyamsundar wanted to know his ward's plan. He was wondering if Harikrishnan would like to come home. Instead, the 24-year-old mentioned the next three tournaments he was preparing for. 'That made me very proud. He's 24. Other players in his shoes might have felt that they have finally become a GM.'Chalo, ho gaya. Now time for a party.' But not him. In fact, his next event starts in two days,' Shyamsundar told The Indian Express. He paints a portrait of a guy who's completely devoted to his craft, to the point that he swore off social media recently. 'He doesn't have too many distractions. He doesn't get carried away. So if we're doing 10 to 12 camps of his rating level in a year, he used to be there in at least 90 percent of them,' the coach says. Now that the final GM norm is achieved, the two have a new objective for the next three tournaments. 'I told him since you've become a GM, now you should try experimenting a little bit (with playing styles etc) and see how it goes,' said Shyamsundar. Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. ... Read More
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Harikrishnan becomes India's 87th Grandmaster
For seven years, Harikrishnan A. Ra. remained an International Master. In the meantime, he competed in many tournaments in his quest to become a Grandmaster but fell short after coming agonisingly close to becoming one. The 23-year-old, coached by Shyam Sundar, finally earned his third and final GM-norm in the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France on Friday, drawing with his countrymate P. Iniyan in the final round to finish fourth and become India's 87th GM. Speaking from La Plagne (France), Harikrishnan expressed a sigh of relief. 'Feel very happy. It's been seven years. I agree there was a huge delay to become a GM. From 2022, I have been competing regularly in tournaments, but couldn't get the GM norms. It was really a struggle,' Harikrishnan told Sportstar on Saturday. He got his first GM-norm in the Biel International Chess Festival in 2023 in Switzerland and his second norm in the Lince Andujar Chess Open in June this year in Spain. According to Harikrishnan, he knew that he needed 1.5 points in the last two rounds to become a GM. 'There was pressure and I am glad I did it,' he said. He defeated Jules Moussard of France in the eighth round and drew with Iniyan in the ninth and last round to complete his third GM-norm. Harikrishnan, who just completed his from SRM, is contemplating playing in quite a few tournaments in Spain and Portugal before returning to his hometown Chennai. 'I want to continue playing till I get the Elo rating of 2600. I also plan to do my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in USA,' he said.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Harikrishnan A Ra becomes India's 87th Grandmaster
For seven years, Harikrishnan A Ra remained an International Master. In the meantime, he competed in many tournaments in his quest to become a Grandmaster but fell short after coming agonisingly close to becoming one. The 23-year-old finally earned his third and final GM-norm in the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France on Friday (July 11, 2025). Harikrishnan drew with his countrymate P. Iniyan in the final round to finish fourth and become India's 87th GM. Speaking from La Plagne (France), Harikrishnan expressed a sigh of relief. 'Feel very happy. It's been seven years. I agree there was a huge delay to become a GM. From 2022, I have been competing regularly in tournaments, but couldn't get the GM norms. It was really a struggle,' Harikrishnan told The Hindu on Saturday (July 12, 2025). He got his first GM-norm in the Biel International Chess Festival in 2023 in Switzerland and his second norm in the Lince Andujar Chess Open in June this year in Spain. According to Harikrishnan, he knew that he needed 1.5 points in the last two rounds to become a GM. 'There was pressure and I am glad I did it,' he said. He defeated Jules Moussard of France in the eighth round and drew with Iniyan in the ninth and last round to complete his third GM-norm. Harikrishnan, who just completed his M. Com from SRM, is contemplating playing in quite a few tournaments in Spain and Portugal before returning to his hometown Chennai. 'I want to continue playing till I get the Elo rating of 2600. I also plan to do my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in USA,' he said.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Vantika 5th Indian to reach round of 32 in Chess World Cup, Nagpur's Divya to face Serbia's Teodora
Nagpur: Vantika Agrawal stunned former world champion Anna Ushenina to become the fifth Indian to advance to the round of 32 in the FIDE Women's World Cup at Batumi, Georgia, on Friday. While Vantika played well with both her white and black pieces in the three tie-break matches played in the rapid and blitz format to join Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh, Vaishali Rameshbabu, and D Harika in the third round, Padmini Rout and Priyanka K suffered losses in contrasting fashion to exit the World Cup. A day after Humpy, Divya, Vaishali, and Harika won their respective second-round contests in the classical format, 23-year-old International Master (IM) Vantika surprised higher-ranked Ukrainian Grandmaster Ushenina 4.5-3.5 in the tie-break matches played in the faster format. In the first tie-break contest played in the rapid 15-minute time control, both Vantika and Ushenina drew their two-game match. To break the tie, a second mini-match of 10-minute time control in rapid format was played where both Vantika and Ushenina won their respective games with black pieces. With the scores level at 3-3, the third tie-break match was played in the blitz format of five-minute time control. Vantika secured an early advantage by winning with her white pieces when she made the most of an extra rook to register a 53-move win over Ushenina to take a 4-3 lead. In the following blitz game, Vantika chose the Anti-Nimzo-Indian Variation with her black pieces and drew the marathon 61-move game with Ushenina to emerge victorious 4.5-3.5. In the third round, the 2388 Elo Vantika will face the challenge of 2515 Elo GM Kateryna Lagno from Saturday. While Vantika became the fifth Indian woman to secure her place among the top 32 players in the World Cup, Padmini Rout stretched Switzerland 2474 Elo GM Alexandra Kosteniuk till the third tie-break but suffered a heartbreaking 3.5-4.5 defeat. Both Padmini and Alexandra started the tie-break matches with a draw. In the second outing with lesser time control, Padmini won with her white pieces in 58 moves but lost the following game with black pieces in 48 moves after becoming a pawn down. In the third tie-break match of blitz format, Padmini suffered a 37-move defeat while defending with her black pieces. In a must-win game, Padmini utilized her opening advantage with the white pieces well and became a pawn up, but Alexandra started repeating her moves, and the marathon 60-move game ended in a draw, and the Indian IM bowed out of the World Cup. Earlier, Priyanka K went down fighting to WIM Kulon Klaudia of Poland 1-3 after the young Indian WIM lost both the rapid round games. In the third round, Klaudia will square up against Koneru Humpy. From Saturday, Vaishali will take on American IM Carissa Yip, Harika will play Stavroula Tsolakidou of Greece, and Divya will face Serbian IM Teodora Injac.
