Vaishali Rameshbabu became the third Indian woman player (after Humpy Koneru and Harika Dronavalli) to earn the grandmaster title. Vaishali obtained the title by scoring a win against FM Tamer Tarik Selbes at the 2023 El Llobregat Open. Since her brother Pragganandhaa is also a grandmaster, Vaishali and Pragg became the world’s first-ever brother-sister grandmaster duo! | Photo: ChessBase India
Round 8 of the Qatar Masters saw Arjun Erigaisi beating David Paravyan to enter Friday’s final round as the sole leader, with six players standing a half point behind. Among these six chasers are Hikaru Nakamura and Nodirbek Abdusattorov Arjun’s rival in round 9 who both grabbed wins on Thursday. Former co-leaders Karthikeyan Murali, Narayanan S.L., Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev still have chances to win the event as well. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
In a remarkable chess feat, the 24-year-old Indian chess grandmaster, Karthikeyan Murali, delivered a stunning blow to the world's number one player, Magnus Carlsen.
Karthikeyan Murali became the third Indian player to ever beat Magnus Carlsen in a classical chess game, as he defeated the former world champion with the black pieces in round 7 of the Qatar Masters. Thanks to the upset win, Karthikeyan joined a 6-player leading pack with two rounds to go in Doha. Smilarly, David Paravyan became a co-leader by beating one of the rating favourites, as he got the better of Dommaraju Gukesh on board 5. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy