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Journalism of Courage

Pravin Thipsay

Pravin Thipsay is an Indian Grand Master and a chess trainer. The writer tweets @Thipsay

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More From Pravin Thipsay

Gukesh brings a new way of playing the game. Who will he face in 2026Subscriber Only

December 16, 2024 16:01 IST

The day is not far when the world championship match will see two Indians playing against each other. I expect Gukesh to be challenged by an Indian player in 2026.

Wed, Dec 18, 2024

World chess championship winner ding liren

Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding has given a new dimension to competitive chessSubscriber Only

April 30, 2023 23:37 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: What happened in the tie-break on Sunday was simply Ding showing better presence of mind than his opponent, Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Mon, May 01, 2023

Pravin Thipsay writes: After an exciting draw in the final game, Nepo will have the edge in tie-breakerSubscriber Only

April 30, 2023 00:15 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren will compete in a tie-breaker after they were inseparable following the 14 games of the World Championship.

Sun, Apr 30, 2023

Game 13 of the 2023 World Chess Championship between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren ended in a draw.

Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren holds the advantage as Game 13 ends in drawSubscriber Only

April 27, 2023 23:55 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: Previous World Championships contenders had a very strong strategic base. That's missing here completely. Ding’s tactics are good. Nepo’s strategic knowledge is good but both these players lack that in-depth knowledge.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023

Game 12 of the 2023 World Chess Championship between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren ended with the Chinese GM drawing level with the Russian at 6-6.

Pravin Thipsay writes: In Game 12, Ding Liren was the lucky winner in contest of jangling nervesSubscriber Only

April 26, 2023 23:17 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren didn’t really do anything special. He won the game without a single great move. This puts even more pressure on Ian Nepomniachtchi now.

Wed, Apr 26, 2023

Game 11 of the 2023 World Chess Championship between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren ended in a draw..

Pravin Thipsay writes: Not pushing hard for win is perhaps Vladimir Kramnik’s influence on NepoSubscriber Only

April 24, 2023 20:57 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: We are seeing a very matured Ian Nepomniachtchi here. He’s not going to crumble as he did against five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen in 2021

Tue, Apr 25, 2023

With Ian Nepomniachtchi leading Ding Liren by a point, there are four more games left in the contest.

Pravin Thipsay writes: Ian Nepomniachtchi shows good presence of mind to draw with BlackSubscriber Only

April 23, 2023 23:37 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren will have to come up with something truly extraordinary in order to win a game now. With only four games to go, it seems a Herculean task.

Mon, Apr 24, 2023

Though Ian Nepomniachtchi has a 5-4 lead in the 14-game match, Ding Liren has three games with White pieces left while Nepo has only two.

Pravin Thipsay writes: Fireworks of earlier games missing from Game 9, but no mistakes eitherSubscriber Only

April 21, 2023 22:58 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: Though Ian Nepomniachtchi has a 5-4 lead in the 14-game match, Ding Liren has three games with White pieces left while Nepo has only two.

Sat, Apr 22, 2023

Ian Nepomniachtchi is leading the 14-game match 4.5-3.5, but Ding Liren is not going to back down with six games to go.

Pravin Thipsay writes: We’re witnessing the most spirited World Championships since early 19th centurySubscriber Only

April 20, 2023 22:56 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren is playing as though this is a street fight. This is a sort of courageous play that one doesn't see in a World Championships.

Thu, Apr 20, 2023

Game 7 of the 2023 World Chess Championship between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren ended with the Russian GM winning.

Pravin Thipsay writes: Strange yet spectacular Game 7 shows this is a ‘classic’ World ChampionshipSubscriber Only

April 18, 2023 23:16 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren should take a leaf out of the book of young Indian GMs like D Gukesh, R Pragganandhaa, or even Vidit Gujrathi, who know when exactly to take a risk and when not to.

Wed, Apr 19, 2023

Game 6 of the 2023 World Chess Championship between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren ended with the Chinese GM drawing level with the Russian at 3-3.

GM Pravin Thipsay writes: In Game 6, Ding Liren won battle of errors against Ian NepomniachtchiSubscriber Only

April 16, 2023 23:38 IST

GM Pravin Thipsay writes: In the games in which we’d seen a result so far, it has been one player who has dominated. Game 6 was totally different in that respect. It was more a battle of strategic errors

Mon, Apr 17, 2023

Ding Liren trails 2-3 against Ian Nepomniachtchi

Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren forgot the basic purpose of chess in Game 5Subscriber Only

April 15, 2023 23:32 IST

Pravin Thipsay writes: While Ding did make strategic errors, the major credit for this victory should go to Nepo’s phenomenal play between moves 31 and 36.

Sun, Apr 16, 2023

GM Pravin Thipsay writes: Finally, it looks like a World Championship matchSubscriber Only

April 13, 2023 22:56 IST

It was also easily the best game Ding has played on the biggest of stages, and a slap in the face to those who doubted his position as a World Championship contender, writes GM Pravin Thipsay.

Fri, Apr 14, 2023

Ding Liren reacts after Game 3 against Ian Nepomniachtchi

GM Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren now seems like proper contender to be world champion, Game 3 indicates he won’t go down easilySubscriber Only

April 12, 2023 23:50 IST

GM Pravin Thipsay writes: After bad loss in Game 2, Chinese GM is impressive in drawing with black pieces but Nepo holds firm to maintain lead in World Championship

Thu, Apr 13, 2023

Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ding Liren: Game 2 was the worst game played in the history of World ChampionshipsSubscriber Only

April 10, 2023 23:38 IST

You could know Game 2 was going to end badly for Ding the moment he played the fourth move. He played h3, a move played by only two amateurs in the past. It is a waste of precious time and achieves nothing in return.

Thu, Apr 13, 2023