India, Russia declared joint winners of Online Chess Olympiad after server malfunction
Chennai: India and Russia were on Sunday declared joint winners of the 2020 Online Chess Olympiad after the final was marred by internet disconnection and server malfunction.
Russia were initially declared winners after two Indian players -- Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh -- lost out on time in the final after suffering a disconnection with the server.
India lodged a protest against the controversial decision which was reviewed.
This was the first time FIDE, the international chess federation, was holding the Olympiad in an online format, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an official statement, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said the global internet outage severely affected several countries, including India so a decision was made only after carefully examination.
"Two of the Indian players have been affected and lost connection, when the outcome of the match was still unclear. The Appeals Committee has examined all the evidence provided by Chess.com, as well as information gathered from other sources about this internet outage.
After being informed of their considerations and in absence of an unanimous decision, and taken into account these unprecedented circumstances, as FIDE President I made the decision to award Gold Medals to both teams," Dvorkovich said.
Legendary Indian chess player Viswananthan Anand shared his excitement by tweeting, "We are the champions !! Congrats Russia!," the wrote on his twitter handle after the final."
The first round of the final ended in a 3-3 draw with all the six games finishing in stalemate. Russia won the second round 4.5-1.5 with wins for Andrey Esipenko over Sarin and Polina Shuvalova over Deshmukh, leading to a controversy as the Indians claimed the losses were due to connection issues.
In the second round, Anand, coming in for P Harikrishna, had drawn with Ian Nepomniachtchi while captain Vidit Gujrathi drew with Daniil Dubov.
Koneru Humpy, the world rapid champion, was beaten by Alexandra Goryachkina and D Harika drew with Alexandra Kosteniuk.
In the first round matches, Gujrathi drew Nepomniachtchi, while Harikrishna and Vladimir Artemiev shared the honours.
In other matches, Humpy and Harika drew with Lagno and Kosteniuk respectively, while young prodigy R Praggnanandhaa and Deshmukh, too, held their opponents.
Reacting to the win, Humpy said, "Well it is a bit strange that we lost due to serve failure and our appeal was accepted. Well I can say, we fought till the end."
"Joint Champions Gold medal it is. First place medal Proud of my whole team #TeamIndia #ChessOlympiad," Harika tweeted after the final.
India enjoyed a great run in the tournament, beating among others the powerful Chinese team in the preliminary phase.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju congratulated the Indian side.
"I congratulate our Indian contingent that won the Gold at the @FIDE_chess Online Chess Olympiad. India was declared the joint winner with Russia. My heartiest wishes to all players!," he tweeted.
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I need not indulge in any revolution, have confidence, hope: D K Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Amid the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Congress in Karnataka for the CM post, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said he is with "utmost patience", and he has no need to indulge in any kind of revolution, as he believes in himself and has hope.
Asserting that he is neither interested in any kind of blackmailing for selfishness, nor is he interested in causing any trouble for the Congress, Shivakumar, who is also its state unit chief, said, though a "street fighter", his fight is never within the party.
Amid claims that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was using state intelligence to keep a tab on Shivakumar's camp through phone tapping during the ongoing power tussle, he stated that he doesn't know about it, and pointed out that the CM and Home Minister G Parameshwara have made statements on the issue.
"To this day, I have not spoken about the CM issue at any point. On matters concerning us, it is between me, the CM and the party high command. I have only said that we are party to the decision that has happened, other than that I have never said anything else," Shivakumar said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Others have been saying the post will become vacant, Dalits should get the post, others should get it. It is others who want the CM post to become vacant, wanting it to be given to Dalits and others. I have never spoken about it. Only if the post is vacant can it be given to anyone else. I have never spoken about the post becoming vacant."
Noting that he is the Congress state president, Shivakumar said he is aware of that responsibility and has always tried to ensure that no harm is caused to the party because of him and that discipline is not violated.
"Being the president of the party, sitting in this chair, no one should point out to me that I have done injustice from this position, killing the party. I don't want anyone to pass such comments against me in the future. So, I'm with utmost patience, I know what is all happening, whether it is right or wrong. I'm aware of it," he said.
Highlighting that the Congress party was built, nurtured and sacrificed for by a number of workers and leaders, including him, he doesn't want lakhs of party workers to be troubled because of him.
"They (workers) have made us sit in power. Neither am I interested in indulging in any kind of blackmail for my selfishness, nor am I interested in causing any trouble for the party," he added.
Replying to a question about his hesitation to comment on the CM change issue and when it might happen, Shivakumar merely said, "Time will answer, and decide."
He, however, did not wish to respond to reports about party leadership, including AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, top leader Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary K C Venugopal having held a discussion on the leadership issue in Karnataka. "I don't know. I haven't spoken or asked anyone," he added.
Shivakumar, who is hosting a dinner party for party legislators on March 10 to mark his six years as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President, responded to a question about his continuation in the post by saying, "New blood should come, youngsters should come with fresh ideas."
"(Ministers) Parameshwara, H K Patil, Ramalinga Reddy and I became Ministers during our first term as MLAs. Our term is over, we are senior citizens, and new people should come....enough for me six years (as KPCC chief), others should also get an opportunity," he said.
Questioned whether he was speaking like a "Yogi," he said, "I'm a street fighter....I have come so far fighting; I know how to fight, but not for power. My fight is not within the party; I will fight outside the party. If anyone thinks I'm quiet, it is left to them."
Asked whether there will be some "Kranti" (revolution) after the budget, he said, "I need not do any Kranti. I have belief in myself, I have self-confidence. I always have hope.....I need not put in any effort; whatever has to come to me, it will come at the appropriate time. I have that confidence. I will meet you soon."
Responding to a question about Siddaramaiah's statement -- that if the BJP and JD(S) leaders have any "evil idea" to woo Shivakumar, it is their "daydream" -- the Deputy CM said, "He (the CM) said that out of his experience, he has seen me closely both when he was in another party and after joining Congress."
Asked whether there were any attempts by BJP and JD(S) to woo him, he said, "I will write a story about it some other time.....why speak about it now."
To a question, whether he accepts Siddaramaiah describing the bond between them as "milk and honey", Shivakumar said, "Of course. It was the same earlier, it is the same now, and it will be the same in 2028."
When pointed out that the bond between him and the CM doesn't seem to be cordial amid the ongoing power tussle, and after listening to some legislators supporting him, he said, "I want to request all the legislators, if they have any desire, that good things should happen to me, please keep quiet."
Accusing the opposition leaders of trying to "sour the relationship" between him and Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, earlier in the day, while rejecting phone tapping allegations, had asserted that such actions would not affect their relationship, which he described as being like "milk and honey."
