STAVANGER, (Norway) May 13: Grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa, Koneru Humpy and Vaishali Rameshbabu will spearhead India’s challenge in the prestigious Norway Chess, to be held here from May 27 to June 7.
Popularly known as the ‘Wimbledon of Chess’, this tournament annually extends invitations to top grandmasters from the world rating list.
Praggnanandhaa’s outing will be keenly watched after the world No. 11 player finished a creditable fourth in the recent Superbet rapid and blitz tournament.
Praggnanandhaa was also the winner of the Norway Chess International Open Tournament in 2022.
India’s world No. 2 Humpy and No. 14 Vaishali, sister of Praggnanandhaa, will feature in a strong women’s field that has world champion Ju Wenjun of China and her compatriot Lei Tingjie.
However, within the top 100 players globally, no women are listed. Hence, to set a new benchmark for gender equality, Norway Chess has introduced world’s first-ever equal female tournament this year.
SHYAAMNIKHIL BECOMES INDIA’S 85th GM
P Shayaamnikhil became India’s 85th Grandmaster by completing his third and final GM norm in the just-concluded Dubai Police Masters chess tournament, ending a 12-year-wait for the player who took to the sport as an eight-year-old.
Shyaamnikhil needed just one win and eight draws to complete the long-overdue GM title which he achieved in the tournament.
The 31-year-old conjured the requisite 2500 ELO rating points, the minimum requirement to be a GM, way back in 2012 with two Grandmaster norms but for the third one, he had to wait for 12 years. (PTI)
