Grand Swiss chess: Harika draws with Paehtz, in joint third place
Riga (Latvia)(PTI): Indian chess ace Dronavalli Harika could not break through the defences of lower-rated German Elisabeth Paehtz in the 10th round to slip to joint third with 6.5 points in the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss chess tournament here.
Harika was up against Paahtz on the second board in a Alapin Variation of the Sicilian. The Indian GM got a promising endgame but missed her chance to put the German to a serious test.
After Harika opted for natural exchange of the bishops, the game quickly transitioned to a drawn rook ending. The two agreed to split a point on move 31 and both are on 6.5 points after the 10th and penultimate round.
China's Lei Tingjie confirmed her first place in the inaugural Women's Grand Swiss following a draw with the top-seed Mariya Muzychuk.
She is followed by compatriot Zhu Jiner in second place with seven points and five players with 6.5/10 are tied for third place.
Among the other Indian women, Vantika Agrawal and Divya Deshmukh scored wins over Nataliya Buksa and Jesse Nikki February, respectively.
Vantika is on six points, while Divya took her tally to four points after the 10th round.
Meanwhile, R Vaishali and Padmini Rout settled for draws against Antoaneta Stefanova and Elina Danielian respectively.
In the Open event, young GM D Gukesh and the veteran Surya Shekhar Ganguly were the only winners in the round.
K Sasikiran, who was among the leading pack for a few rounds, lost to Russia's Andrey Esipenko to slip to joint fourth with six points with a bunch of players including fellow Indians Nihal Sarin and P Harikrishna.
In a clas of generations, veteran Kiril Georgiev (55) lost to 15-year-old D Gukesh.
In a Ragozin Variation of the Nimzo Indian, Gukesh managed to create a so-called Octopus - a strongly positioned knight - who, following the shape of the letter W', made his easy waltz from b3 via c5-d3-e5 to f3, where he landed a devastating blow to White's defences.
Gukesh meets compatriot GM R Praggnanandhaa in the 11th and final round. Both are on 4.5 points.
Alireza Firouzja has recovered from his loss to Fabiano Caruana on Friday by defeating David Howell in the crucial game of the tenth round of the Grand Swiss.
With this victory, Firouzja has 7.5/10 and is entering the final round with a half-point advantage over everyone else. He is followed by Fabiano Caruana and Grigoriy Oparin who are on 7/10.
Ten Indian men and five women feature in the tournament.
The Grand Swiss Tournament and Women's Grand Swiss 2021 are part of the qualifications for the 2021-23 World Championship cycle. The top two finishers will qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2022.
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Karnataka police constable arrested for forging passport verification records
Mangaluru: A police constable attached to the Vitla Police Station has been arrested for allegedly forging documents and manipulating passport verification records to obtain a clearance certificate from the authorities.
Police said on Tuesday that a person identified as Shakti Das, who claimed to be residing within the jurisdiction of the Vitla Police Station, first applied for a passport in February 2025.
During police verification, it was found that the address mentioned in the application did not match official records, following which the application was not recommended.
In June 2025, Shakti Das reportedly submitted a second passport application. Police alleged that Pradeep, a staff member at the Vitla Police Station, processed the reapplication without informing the concerned beat constable, Sabu Mirji, who was responsible for verifying the applicant’s address.
Pradeep allegedly prepared a verification report in the name of the beat constable, forged his signature, secured approval from senior officers, and forwarded the report. He is also accused of destroying verification-related documents to conceal the irregularities.
As per the report, the matter came to light on December 19 during a scrutiny of records. Police said the acts amounted to criminal breach of trust, as a crucial identity document issued by the Central government was fraudulently obtained.
Police further said that Shakti Das claims to hail from West Bengal, and his address is currently being verified.
Based on the findings, Vitla Police have registered a case against Pradeep and passport holder Shakti Das under Sections 336, 337, 316(5), and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Pradeep has been arrested and produced before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody. Further investigation is underway, police said.
