Snippets of Information
Sports - Chess
* 23 Aug 2025
Indian GM Gukesh Dommaraju is the current world chess champion,
defeating GM Ding Liren in the FIDE World Championship on December 12,
2024. He is the youngest undisputed world champion in chess history, at
18 years and six months old, shattering the previous record of 22 years
and seven months which was set by GM Garry Kasparov in 1985. Gukesh
became the challenger to the world championship in April 2024 by winning
the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament with a score of 9/14, which also
made him the youngest-ever Candidates Tournament winner.
A chess prodigy, Gukesh earned the GM title at 12 years, 7 months and 17
days of age—narrowly missing GM Sergey Karjakin’s record at the time by
17 days. In July 2022, he achieved a live rating of 2700, the
fourth-youngest player to ever do so. In September 2023, he was ranked
eighth in the world and first in India—ending GM Viswanathan Anand's
37-year reign as India's top-rated player.
Source: chess.com
* 24 Feb 2022
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, commonly known as Praggnanandhaa, is
an Indian chess grandmaster, born on August 10, 2005, in Chennai. A
chess prodigy, he is the fifth-youngest person ever to achieve the title
of Grandmaster (GM), behind Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Gukesh
D, and Javokhir Sindarov. He is the younger sibling of Woman Grandmaster
Vaishali Rameshbabu. He became the youngest International Master at the
age of 10 and the youngest Grandmaster at 12 years, 10 months, and 13
days. He is known for his aggressive playing style and quick
calculation. Praggnanandhaa was part of the Indian team that won silver
at the 2022 Asian Games and gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad in 2024. He
also secured second place at the 2023 Chess World Cup.
Source: Google AI Overview, wikipedia.org
* 23 Aug 2025
Arjun Kumar Erigaisi (born 3 September 2003) is an Indian chess
grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster at the
age of 14 years, 11 months, 13 days. In September 2024 he became India's
top rated player, and in December 2024 he achieved his peak rating of
2801 which makes him the fifteenth-highest rated player in history and
second Indian ever to cross the 2800 threshold after Viswanathan Anand.
He has sometimes been described as a 'madman' over the board for his
bold and unpredictable style.[
Source: Wikipedia
* 23 Aug 2025
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body
of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess
competitions. Constituted as a non-governmental institution, it was
recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a Global Sporting
Organization in 1999.
FIDE currently has its headquarters in Lausanne, but it was initially
founded in 1924 in Paris under the motto “Gens una Sumus” (Latin for “We
are one Family”). It was one of the very first International Sports
Federations, alongside the governing bodies of the sports of Football,
Cricket, Swimming, and Auto Racing. It is now one of the largest,
encompassing 201 countries as affiliate members, in the form of National
Chess Federations. Chess is nowadays a truly global sport, with dozens
of millions of players in all the continents, and more than 60 million
games on average played every day.
Source: fide.com
* 4 Aug 2022
The International Olympic Committee considers chess to be a sport.
Chess requires physical exertion as mental exertion manifests itself physically.
Chess has rules and etiquette which are officially recognized internationally.
Chess is competitive as the participating players feel the drive to win.
Chess requires skill as a deep and serious chess training is necessary to become good at chess.
Source: ichess.net
* 1 Aug 2022
On July 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared open the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad, the first time in the place of origin of chess, India.
The world’s biggest team chess championship, featuring players from 187 countries at Mamallapuram upto August 10.
* 5 Aug 2022
Sathuranga (Chathuranga) Vallabhanathar
A temple for Lord Shiva at Thirupoovanur near Needamangalam in Tiruvarur
district is linked to the game of chess (Sathurangam/ Chathurangam in Tamil)
The presiding deity of the temple is Sathuranga (Chathuranga) Vallabhanathar, an expert in chess.
Legend has it that, Lord Shiva was called Sathuranga Vallabhanathar
after winning the right to marry the daughter of a local king by
defeating her in a game of chess. The princess, Rajarajeswari, believed
to be an incarnation of Goddess Parvathi was a genius at chess and the
king had declared that he would give the hand of his daughter to anyone
who defeated her in the game. As none could defeat her, a worried king
prayed to Lord Shiva. The Lord was said to have appeared in the guise of
an old man/siddhar, defeated Rajarajeswari in the game and later shed
his disguise to marry the ‘Goddess’. The temple also houses a rare
shrine for Chamundeeswari, who is said to have been sent as a nurse to
Rajarajeswari.
Source: Sathuranga Vallabhanathar, the deity of chess by S.Ganesan, The Hindu, July 21, 2022
* 4 Aug 2022
Lothal was a port city contemporary with Harappa and
Mohenjo-daro. The site was discovered in 1954 and excavated on most
scientific lines between 1955 and 1962. Lothal is situated at the head
of the Gulf of Cambay at a distance of 80 kilometres south-west of
Ahmedabad.
A fact of particular pride to chess lovers is that Dr S.R. Rao discovered some "chaturanga" pieces during excavations at Lothal. With carbon tests they are dated 2,500 B.C.
This proves that "chaturanga" was in vogue in India some 4,500 years ago.
Source: Views of V.D. Pandit (Bombay, India) from The Origins of Chess by Edward Winter, chesshistory.com
* 4 Aug 2022
‘Hindu mythology believes that the game of Chaturanga - of which, I repeat, chess is the descendant - was invented by Mandodari,
the Queen of King Ravana of Lanka (now Sri Lanka) to amuse her ever
ambitious and warring husband. The recent excavations at Lothal
(Gujarat) lead us to think that after all this does not seem to be a
mere myth.
The first version of Ramayana (basically an epic of war between King
Ravana and Lord Rama wherein Ravana was demolished by Lord Rama) was
composed during 800 B.C. But scholars differ about the period of
Ramayana. In any case, it is, however, older than 1000 B.C. But the
pieces found at Lothal are from 2500 B.C. It seems possible then that
the prosperous and civilized Dravidians, who ruled India, knew the game
and Mandodari, a Dravidian Queen, did not actually invent the game but
taught Ravana the game already in vogue. Newly wed Mandodari was not
happy with Ravana’s habit of frequently going out on wars leaving her
behind all alone. With a view to promoting acquaintance between the two,
she taught him the game.
Source: Views of V.D. Pandit (Bombay, India) from The Origins of Chess by Edward Winter, chesshistory.com
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