Indian GM Praggnanandhaa sails into semifinals of Chessable Masters
Chennai(PTI): Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated China's Wei Yi 2.5-1.5 to book a spot in the semifinals of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Chessable Masters 2022 online tournament.
The 16-year-old Praggnanandhaa will take on Anish Giri (the Netherlands) in the semifinals. World No.1 Magnus Carlsen will take on China's Ding Liren in the other semifinal clash.
Giri and Carlsen scored comfortable 2.5-0.5 wins over Aryan Tori (Norway) and David Anton Gujjaro (Spain), while Liren defeated Azerbaijan's Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2.5-1.5 in the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals against Yi late on Monday, the teenaged Indian star opened with a win with black pieces in 90 moves. He built on that fine start to take the second game of the four-game match to go 2-0 up.
The Chinese star bounced back to claim the third game of the series to reduce the margin. A draw in the fourth was enough for the Indian GM to seal a spot in the semifinals.
Praggnanandhaa had created a stir earlier in the preliminary phase by beating Carlsen in the sixth round. He finished fourth behind Anish, Carlsen and Ding Liren.
The two other Indian players -- P Harikrishna and Gujrathi in the 16-player field, finished outside the top 8 and failed to make the cut for the knockout bracket.
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Rahul urges govt to take proactive measures to safeguard Indians
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday expressed concern over the escalating hostilities between Israel-US and Iran and urged the government of India to take immediate proactive steps to ensure the safety of all Indians in the middle east.
"The rapidly escalating hostilities between US-Israel and Iran are deeply concerning.
"The safety and security of every Indian citizen across the Middle East must be our highest priority," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said in a post on X.
"I urge the Government of India to take immediate and proactive measures to safeguard our people," Gandhi also said.
The US and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday. Iran responded, targeting Israel with missiles and drones and also striking US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
The rapidly escalating hostilities between US-Israel and Iran are deeply concerning.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 28, 2026
The safety and security of every Indian citizen across the Middle East must be our highest priority.
I urge the Government of India to take immediate and proactive measures to safeguard our…
