Entry of Russians makes Asian chess a tougher contest

Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
A bout 35 Indians will try to seal a FIDE knockout World Cup berth when they play the Asian Individual chess championship at Al Ain, UAE, from Wednesday. This will be the first continental meet where Russian players will take part in the official meet of their new affiliated continental federation — Asian Chess Federation .The last continental cy- cle had given eight World Cup berths to Asia (four each from two events).Now, due to the Russian presen- ce, those have been increa- sed to 10.The top-two from the Asian women's event, which will be played con- currently, will get women's World Cup spots. Russia had made the switch from European Chess Union to Asia in early 2023 and their players did not participate in the European individual championship this year from which top-20 players made it to the World Cup.'It is unfair on Asian players as the Asian continental berths available to the non-Russians will be reduced due to the presence of Russians,' seven-time National champion Praveen Thipsay told TOI.'FIDE tries to protect the interest of Russian players.If Russians were to play in the European Championship, they would be denied visa, because chess federations in western Europe have no social influence in their countries.'All India Chess Federa- tion secretary Dev Patel told this paper: 'Presence of Rus- sia in Asia doesn't make much of a difference. Indian players will have tougher competition and that can be good.'Top 10 Russian players are not playing in the Asian continental as they could qualify for the 206-player expanded and watered-down World Cup through other paths. The women's World Cup is a 103-player event.Olympiad winner Vantika Agrawal, PV Nandhidhaa and Padmini Rout are the top Indian women entries in the Asian with 12 men among the top-25 seeds being Indians. Nihal Sarin, Murali Karthikeyan, Leon Mendonca, Abhimanyu Puranik, Pranav and Pranesh are some of the notable Indians participating.The top-rated Russian at the Asian men's meet is 16th seed David Paravyan (Elo 2596). Still, the strength of Russians cannot be denied as 10 GMs (above Elo 2500) are participating in the nine-round swiss league meet. That strength from one country is as good as the top-10 of the world's elite women chess players.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Hindustan Times

43 minutes ago

• Hindustan Times

Kane enjoying 'special feeling' as Bayern advance at Club World Cup

Bayern Munich's England striker Harry Kane said Friday he is relishing the Club World Cup's "special" atmosphere and is confident the German team can now go all the way. HT Image Kane scored the opener for Bayern in a 2-1 win over Argentina's Boca Juniors at Hard Rock Stadium that took his side through to the last 16. He said it had been a tough challenge in the heat and humidity of South Florida. "There's something special about these World Cup games and next year will be the same," he said with a nod to the 2026 World Cup. "When you come off that pitch and you're sweating and you're dripping and you're cramping and you've given everything on the pitch. There's a special feeling inside, especially when you win. That's what we had today." Boca responded to Kane's opener through Miguel Merentiel, but Michael Olise sealed the win six minutes from time. "Really tough game. I thought the first half was really good, I mean we probably should have been 2 or 3-0 up. They hung in the game and the second half made it more difficult," said Kane, who acknowledged the incredible support of more than 55,000 Boca fans in the 63,587 crowd. "I mean it felt like an away game out there for sure, their fans were really loud. It was a great experience to play in front of them and I think that's what makes the win even more special, because it feels like a good away win," he said. "So we're really happy, really pleased and we'll sleep well tonight." Bayern's win was the first for a European team against South American opposition in the tournament and Kane said he was enjoying pitting himself against opponents European clubs rarely face. "I think it's great to experience different teams and I think you've seen in this tournament already, the South American teams especially have caused big problems for some of the European teams. "So it shows how big football is worldwide and how good some of these players are. You have to be ready for the next game, the next opportunity. So yeah, I'm loving this tournament so far and hopefully we're going to be here for a while," he said. Kane added that he was confident Bayern had a real chance to win the competition. "I think we have a good opportunity. We started the tournament really well. I think the style we play is difficult for any team." sev/as This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

The Hindu

an hour ago

• The Hindu

Club World Cup 2025: Angel Di Maria leads Benfica past Auckland City 6-0

Ángel Di María and Leandro Barreiro each scored two goals Friday (June 20, 2025) to help Benfica rout Auckland City 6-0 in a Club World Cup game that was delayed at halftime because of thunder and lightning. Di María, who teamed with Lionel Messi to win the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, scored his first goal from the penalty spot deep into added time at the end of the first half. His second score, and the team's sixth, was again from the penalty spot and in added time at the end of the match. Auckland City exchanged counterattacks with the Portuguese powerhouse in the first half of the Group C match, but was still outshot 18-1. The second half went Benfica's way. Vangelis Pavlidis made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute, Renato Sanches scored a short time later and Barreiro then scored a pair of goals to increase the lead to 5-0. A thunderstorm delayed the start of the second half for more than two hours. When the match resumed at Inter&Co Stadium, the goals came pouring in for Benfica. Key moment Auckland midfielder Tong Zhou went down with an apparent head injury just before halftime. Trainers attended to Zhou on the field, and Benfica defender Alvaro Carreras complained about the delay. He was given a yellow card after a spat with game officials. Takeaways With the win, Benfica has four points in Group C. Bayern Munich, which beat Auckland City 10-0 in its opening match, plays Boca Juniors later Friday in Miami Gardens, Florida. What they said 'It was very good. We are happy to play here.' — Benfica coach Bruno Lage. 'I'm a little bit frustrated. The first half was solid. It was just very disappointing to concede a goal. I think the guys are going to be a little bit disappointed in the scoreline.' — Auckland coach Paul Posa.

Indian Express

an hour ago

• Indian Express

Daily Briefing: Flight carrying Indian students from Iran reaches Delhi; Air India plane crash victims' families' long wait for closure

Good morning, The wait is finally over! India seems to have found its next big cricket star, as Shubman Gill took captaincy in his stride and hit the ground running on day one of India's English summer. Unbeaten on 127, a run short of his highest-ever Test score, Gill middled most balls during the match. Sandeep Dwivedi, describing Gill's game on the field, writes: 'Shubman at Headingley cracked that code, he had the right answer to that delicate question – What to defend and what to drive. That was the reason why close to half of his 16 fours on the off-side with his cover drives stood out for their fluency.' At 359/3, India had clearly nosed ahead in the Test series against England. The new era has had a dream start. With that, let's move on to the top 5 stories from today's edition: 🚨 Big Story Israel's strikes on Friday resulted in damage to key buildings at the partially constructed Khondab (formerly known as Arak) Heavy Water Production Plant, including its distillation unit, located in Iran. Just days earlier, Israel launched overnight airstrikes on several Iranian sites, including the headquarters of SPND, Iran's primary research organisation for nuclear weapons development. These strikes killed multiple Iranian nuclear scientists and top military officials, as per reports. It has, since then, hit prominent Iranian nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan, Arak and Tehran. In retaliation, Iran hit the prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science, causing heavy damage to multiple research facilities while signalling a chilling new front in the widening conflict. The most-awaited return: As the Israel-Iran war continued to rage amid indications that the United States could join the strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, Delhi managed to persuade Tehran to open Iranian airspace for the evacuation of around 1,000 Indians via the north-eastern town of Mashhad. As part of the latest efforts under Operation Sindhu, a flight from Mashhad, carrying 290 Indian students, mainly from Jammu and Kashmir, landed at Delhi airport late Friday. At least three Iranian airline Mahan Air flights are being operated to bring back Indians this weekend, with one expected to arrive from Ashgabat in Turkmenistan soon. Follow here as we bring to you latest updates on the Iran-Israel war! Breach: The Islamic Republic has said that its Parliament was preparing a Bill to potentially leave the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970, the international treaty is aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and technology, and promoting cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, as well as disarmament. Although Iran is a signatory of the Bill, the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors (which includes the P5, India, Bangladesh, Japan and Ukraine), in its first such decision in almost 20 years, recently said that Iran breached its non-proliferation obligations. What does this mean? What happens if Iran leaves the NPT? We explain. ⚡ Only in Express The long wait: With most victims in the London-bound Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad charred beyond recognition, including 12 people at the crash site, confirming their identities correctly has been a formidable task. As of 11.50 am on June 20, 223 victims were identified and 204 remains were handed over to families. Officials said the final toll would be declared after the DNA profiling of all victims is complete. From following Interpol guidelines, DNA matching, to handling child victims, here's how Ahmedabad is helping crash victims' families find some closure. Diu's loss: Among those who died in the Ahmedabad-Gatwick flight crash were 14 with roots in Diu – four of them British (including Ajay, brother of Vishwas Kumar – the sole survivor of India's worst air disaster in three decades, out of 242 on board) and seven Portuguese. On this tiny island of about 51,000 people, many have lost someone they knew in the airplane crash – the white caps and dark saris, a mark of mourning, now dot the island. 💡 Express Explained Islamabad has extended strong rhetorical support to Tehran amid the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, calling Israel's actions a 'violation of all rules of civilised behaviour… and international humanitarian law'. Yet it has stopped short of making any tangible military commitments to Iran. Islamabad's tightrope walk vis-à-vis Tehran is apparent in statements during Army Chief General Asim Munir's visit to Washington this week, where he emphasised 'clear and strong' support for Iran. How do we understand this balancing act? Read our Explainer here. ✍️ Express Opinion In our Opinion section today, Jonah Blank delves into the latest escalation of hostilities between Iran and Israel, and what's in it for the leaders of these nations. He writes: 'Long-term planning requires trade-offs. If you're the leader of a powerful nation, you might have to forgo a flashy-but-transitory headline today in order to seal a boring-yet-substantial treaty that will benefit your successor. Neither Netanyahu nor Trump are that kind of leader. Which is why their decisions will make Iran's nuclearisation less immediate — but, eventually, more certain.' 🍿 Movie Review Wondering what to watch this weekend? Well, we've got your back! The Aamir Khan-starrer Sitaare Zameen Par has hit the theatres, and we can't wait for the magic to take over. It adopts the original's determinedly 'cheery vein to win its matches; in the process, it also wins our hearts,' writes Shubhra Gupta in her review. She further writes: 'Borrowing the tone from the original, 'Sitaare Zameen Par' chooses to stay on the side of laughter, and it's a wise decision, because what you can convey to the average person through laughs sometimes has more weight than wrung-out tears.' That's all for today. Have a lovely weekend! Until next time, Ariba