Press launch by FIDE
The Nationwide Sports activities Awards 2025 had been introduced on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, with 17 sportspersons named for the Arjuna Awards, the second-highest sporting honour in India. These awards are given yearly by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports activities to acknowledge excellent achievers.
A complete of 17 excellent athletes throughout disciplines, together with monitor and discipline, badminton, taking pictures, kabaddi and para-sports, have been chosen for the Arjuna Award 2025. This marks the bottom variety of athletes to obtain the award since 2017. Notably, the checklist of awardees consists of two Indian chess stars: Grandmasters Vidit Gujrathi and the winner of the FIDE Girls’s World Cup 2025, Divya Deshmukh.
Nitin Narang, President of the All India Chess Federation, warmly congratulated Vidit and Divya in a post on X (previously Twitter):
Congratulations to Divya Deshmukh and Vidit Gujrathi on being honoured with the celebrated Arjuna Award!
Their distinctive performances, willpower and contribution to Indian chess have made the nation proud.
A heartfelt thanks to Honourable PM Narendra Modi for his unwavering encouragement to India’s sporting champions and for persistently inserting sport and athletes on the coronary heart of our nationwide aspirations.
Grateful to Honourable Sports activities Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya for his continued assist to Indian sport and our chess champions.
A particular salute to their mother and father for his or her sacrifices and unwavering perception, and to thousands and thousands of Indian chess followers whose love and encouragement encourage our gamers day-after-day.
Might Divya and Vidit proceed to make the Tricolour soar greater!
Vidit Gujrathi participated on the 2024 Candidates Event | Photograph: Michal Walusza / FIDE
These days, the checklist of necessities for a gap repertoire is lengthy: being sound and sustainable; not requiring a lot memorisation; providing nice attacking probabilities; making your opponent suppose early on and many others… The time of discovering a minimal benefit from the opening has handed, and we’re higher off with a extra sensible strategy – merely understanding the place higher than our opponent does. The Repertoire for White 1.d4 … 2.Bg5! from IM Robert Ris solutions all these necessities!
Free video pattern: Introduction
Free video pattern: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 Be7/d5/c5
Divya Deshmukh emerged victorious on the 2025 Girls’s World Cup | Photograph: Anna Shtourman / FIDE
Supply: Press Information Bureau (PIB)
It rewards gamers who love initiative and clear attacking plans.
This two-volume course presents a whole repertoire for Black after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 – the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon. In recent times, this dynamic line has grown considerably in recognition, with a number of of the world’s prime gamers including it to their repertoires.
This variation has two foremost benefits for black, he doesn’t should face the Rossolimo or Moscower Variation after 3.Bb5 and in lots of traces he can play d5 in a single go and save a tempo. This primary quantity covers the Open Sicilian with each the razor sharp traces from the dragon and the positional Maroczy Bind.
Free video pattern: Introduction
Free video pattern: 6.Be3 Qb6 Introduction
