Classical act: Despite evolution of chess, purest form of sport is here to stay
The New Indian Express Kollam|December 07, 2024
COUPLE of days ahead of the World Championship, Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana had checked into Singapore.
SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN
Classical act: Despite evolution of chess, purest form of sport is here to stay

In an alternate world, the former, the World No 1 across all three regular formats (Classical, Rapid and Blitz), would have arrived in the city-state to play the final. Now? Not so much. He had arrived with Caruana, the World No 2 in Classical, to play a couple of games of freestyle chess, a variant of the game. In this game, the starting order of the pieces on the back rank are randomised. So, as D Gukesh and Ding Liren checked into a plush hotel for the World Championship, Carlsen and Caruana, with a bevy of photographers, sailed off on a yacht to play a couple of freestyle games.

Carlsen won the series – of course he won the series – before posting something provocative on X. "Freestyle > Classical". He, of course, knew what he was doing. In less than 24 hours, the World Championship's first game was about to get underway. On November 25, less than two hours after the final began, Emil Sutovsky, the CEO of the world body (FIDE), couldn't resist. "Classical > any other", he wrote on X.

Welcome to the battle to preserve the board game's purest version and its immediate siblings in the face of increasing alternatives.

Esta historia es de la edición December 07, 2024 de The New Indian Express Kollam.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición December 07, 2024 de The New Indian Express Kollam.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS KOLLAMVer todo
The New Indian Express Kollam

Do early screening to prevent vision loss due to diabetes

India, which is seeing a surge in diabetes cases, is also witnessing a rise in diabetic retinopathy, a condition that damages the retina due to high sugar levels. According to Dr MJ Barman, vitreo-retina and ocular oncology service, ASG Eyecare, Paltanbazaar, Guwahati, awareness about the condition remains low in India. He tells Kavita Bajeli-Datt that the need of the hour is to conduct regular check-ups and educate people about newer treatments that can help reduce the disease burden. Edited excerpts:

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
The New Indian Express Kollam

Beau is not afraid of Test challenges

IMAGINE being Beau Webster. You had just helped Tasmania beat New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the Sheffield Shield game around late November. A 61 and 49 with the bat while taking five wickets across two innings. You get called up as cover for Mitchell Marsh ahead of the pink ball Test against India.

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
The New Indian Express Kollam

GREEN CORNER IN BOXING DAY BOUT

MCG curator says grass on the surface should excite pacers

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
The New Indian Express Kollam

Scrap dealer's son Sairaj claims gold

SAIRAJ Pardeshi was pretty clear what he had to become when he was only eight.

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
The New Indian Express Kollam

Naveen & Lokesh one hit away from national glory

IT was a mixed outing for shuttlers from Tamil Nadu in the ongoing Senior National Badminton Championships in Bengaluru on Monday.

time-read
1 min  |
December 24, 2024
The New Indian Express Kollam

Hyderabad FC squander 2-goal lead to suffer loss

HYDERABAD FC have endured a difficult run in the ongoing Indian Super League so far. And things turned from bad to worse on Monday.

time-read
1 min  |
December 24, 2024
The New Indian Express Kollam

Adani Defence acquires 85.8% in Air Works

ADANI DEFENCE Systems & Technologies Ltd. (ADSTL) is acquiring 85.8% shareholding in Air Works (AWIEPL), India's largest private sector MRO company with the largest pan-India footprint, said the Adani Group company on Monday.

time-read
1 min  |
December 24, 2024
The New Indian Express Kollam

Razorpay grants employees ₹1L ESOPs to mark 10-yr of operation

FINTECH major Razorpay is awarding employee stock option plans (ESOPs) worth ₹1 lakh to all its current employees as part of its 10 years celebration.

time-read
1 min  |
December 24, 2024
The New Indian Express Kollam

Honda-Nissan to be 3rd-largest carmaker

JAPANESE auto giants Honda and Nissan have announced plans to merge operations, creating the world's third-largest automaker by sales, trailing only Toyota and Volkswagen.

time-read
1 min  |
December 24, 2024
The New Indian Express Kollam

Women represent 20% of crypto exchange CoinDCX's high networth customers

WITH the increasing adoption of cryptocurrency, women are now representing 20% of crypto exchange CoinDCX's HNI (high net-worth individual) customers.

time-read
1 min  |
December 24, 2024