Chess

Anand held by Kramnik, Carlsen moves ahead

London: World champion Viswanathan Anand's hunt for an elusive victory continued as he was held by the former challenger Vladimir Kramnik of Russia for a draw in the fourth round of London Chess Classic here on Wednesday. Another draw statistically mean that Anand hasn't won for 17 classical games in a row, including four matches in the last World Championship, the Final Masters tournament where he finished winless and three...  

Watch: How Kate's baby changes line of succession to the UK throne

Britain's Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting their first child. CNN's Richard Quest explains how the baby will change the line of succession to the throne. ...

Anand draws with Aronian in London Chess Classic

London: World champion Viswanathan Anand failed to capitalise on chances that came his way and played out a draw with tail-ender Levon Aronian of Armenia in the third round of the London Chess Classic here on Tuesday. Hunting for his first victory in a Classical Chess game since the last World Championship in May earlier this year, Anand got a better position with an extra pawn against Aronian but his...  

UK's Prince William and Catherine expecting a baby

London: Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine are expecting a baby, destined to be the country's future monarch, the prince's office said on Monday. "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby," the office said in a statement. "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince...  

Vishwanathan Anand salvages draw against McShane

London: World champion Viswanathan Anand survived anxious moments before he salvaged a draw against Luke McShane of England in the second round of the London Chess Classic here Monday. Having started with a bye, Anand had the advantage of playing white in the opener but the Indian ace could not find any real advantage and finally survived by the skin of the teeth to open his account. World number one,...  

Anand gets favourable draw in London Classic

London: World champion Viswanathan Anand got a favourable draw as he will start his campaign at the London Classic from round two on Sunday and will be seen assisting in daily commentary in the opening round of the event at the Olympia here. It will be a test of time for Anand who slipped to number six in World rankings in the official FIDE rating list released on Friday. The...  

Humpy crashes out of World Women's Championship

Khanty Mansiysk: Grandmaster and highest rated in the fray, Koneru Humpy crashed out of the World Women's Chess Championship after failing to capitalise on her chances against Natalia Zhukova of Ukraine in the second game of the second round that concluded here. After losing the first game of the two-game mini-match, the Indian faced a daunting task of winning with black in the return game and when the chance came...  

Humpy shocked by Zhukova in world women's chess c'ship

Khanty Mansiysk: Top-rated Grandmaster Koneru Humpy suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Natalia Zhukova of Ukraine in the first game of the second round of world women's chess championship here on Wednesdat. It turned out to be a bad day in office for the highest rated girl in the fray as she could not find her rhythm and now finds herself in a must-win situation with black pieces...  

Abhijeet Gupta to lead Indian challenge in Fujairah Open

Fujairah, UAE: Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta will spearhead the Indian challenge in the Fujairah International chess tournament that gets underway here. Currently ranked fourth in the country, Gupta is playing his first tournament after the Chess Olympiad where he bagged the silver medal on the fourth board playing for Team India. The Indian has escalated himself to 2667 ELO rating points and the expectations are high...  

Humpy in second round of World Chess Championship

Khanty Mansiysk (Russia): Koneru Humpy effortlessly defeated Denise Frick of South Africa while D Harika outplayed compatriot Soumya Swaminathan to move to the second round of the World Women's chess championship on Tuesday. Having had to sweat a little in the first game of the first round, Humpy was terrific in the return game and scored an easy victory to see herself through to the round of 32 in the...  

Anand signs off with a draw; finishes fifth

Bilbao: World champion Viswanathan Anand could not fetch a win till the very end as he settled for a draw with Russian Sergey Karjakin in the 10th and final round of fifth Final Chess Masters to finish a lowly fifth here. Having lost to Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the penultimate round after a spate of draws, Anand could not break through the defenses of Karjakin and settled for his...  

Anand shocked by Carlsen in Final Masters

Bilbao: It went from bad to worse for world Champion Viswanathan Anand as he suffered a shocking loss at the hands of Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in the ninth and penultimate round of fifth Final Chess Masters here. Having drawn the first eight games in the tournament, Anand was expected to hold fort against Carlsen but the Indian ace cracked under pressure and went on to lose his first game in...  

Another draw for Anand at Final Masters

Bilbao, (Spain): World champion Viswanathan Anand's hunt for an elusive victory continued as he was held to a draw by Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the eighth round of the fifth Final Masters here at the Alhondiga. The eighth draw in as many games means that Anand is now out of any real title contention in the six-player double round-robin tournament barring a miracle that seems pretty unlikely. Draws, in...  

Victory eludes Anand again, plays another draw

Bilbao: World champion Viswanathan Anand's hunt for an elusive victory continued as he was held to a draw by Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the eighth round of the fifth Final Masters here at the Alhondiga. The eighth draw in as many games means that Anand is now out of any real title contention in the six-player double round-robin tournament barring a miracle that seems pretty unlikely. Draws, in fact,...  

Chess: Seventh draw for Anand in Final Masters

Bilbao (Spain): World champion Viswanathan Anand played out his seventh draw in as many games, signing peace with world number two Levon Aronian of Armenia in the seventh round of the fifth Final Chess Masters. With his seventh draw, nothing changed for Anand as he remained clear fourth in the six-player double round-robin tournament and the Indian ace can now look up to the two white games coming his way...  

Sixth straight draw for Anand in Final Masters chess

Bilbao: World Champion Viswanathan Anand played out his sixth draw on the trot, signing peace with Francisco Vallejo Pons of Spain in round six of fifth Final Masters chess championship here. The second leg of the championship, which got underway after a week's break, was not expected to be very promising for Anand as he plays three black games out of five here and the trend continued as Vallejo Pons...  

Anand draws; Caruana continues to leads at Chess Masters

Sao Paulo: World Champion Viswanathan Anand's hunt for the elusive victory continued as he played out fifth draw on the trot, signing peace with Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the fifth round of 5th Final Masters, here. Yet another draw, coming with white pieces, did not serve Anand's cause in any way as the lead positions remained unchanged after the end of the Sao Paulo leg of the super tournament....  

Anand draws again in Chess Masters

Sao Paulo: World champion Viswanathan Anand's winless streak continued as he played out a tame draw against out-of-form Sergey Karjakin of Russia -- his fourth in as many games -- in the fourth round of fifth Final Masters here. Playing in his first tournament after his world championship triumph in Moscow earlier this year, Anand could not force a win against Karjakin and inched himself up to four points under...  

Anand held by leader Caruana in Chess Masters

Sao Paulo: World Champion Viswanathan Anand could not break the ice for the third day running and drew with Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the third round of fifth Final Chess Masters here. Anand, in fact, had to defend for a long time against the youngest participant here and it was only after a stubborn defense that the Indian ace could force a draw. Draws were the order of the...  

Anand draws with Aronian in Chess Masters

Sao Paulo: World Champion Viswanathan Anand played out his second draw on the trot, signing peace with Levon Aronian of Armenia in the second round of 5th Final Masters here. With draws from two white games so far, it turns out to be a mediocre start for Anand, who is back to competitive chess after a four-month break. The Indian ace will certainly feel the pressure as the tournament progresses...