London, July 8 (IANS) The Global Chess League on Monday unveiled the six franchises for its second season to be held in London from October 3 to 12 at the Friends House.

The second season will see the debut of a new team, American Gambits, owned by business leaders Prachura PP, Venkat K Narayana, and Indian cricketer and chess enthusiast Ravichandran Ashwin.

The six franchises competing in the second season include Alpine SG Pipers (APL Apollo-led SG Sports), Ganges Grandmasters (Insurekot Sports), Mumba Masters (Unilazer Ventures), PBG Alaskan Knights (Punit Balan Group), and the inaugural season champions Triveni Continental Kings (Triveni Engineering & Industries Limited).

The players will compete in a unique joint team format consisting of six players, including two top women chess players and a prodigy player per team. Adding to the excitement and anticipation among fans, this innovative format will be aired on major OTT and broadcast platforms worldwide.

In the tournament, each team will play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each match being decided in a best-of-six board scoring system. Each team will play ten matches across black and white pieces.

The teams will play five matches, with all six players in each team initially playing with the white or black pieces against their opponents, followed by a reverse round in which the entire team will play five matches with the reversed colour pieces against the same opponent.

The winning team for every match will be determined by the points aggregated from wins and draws across all six games played in the match. The top two teams will advance to the final round.

“We are thrilled to welcome the teams for the second season of the Global Chess League. We have found the right partners to strengthen the league’s global reach and look forward to bringing an exciting season of chess to fans worldwide. The teams made season one a huge success and we believe that their impact and popularity will continue to expand in the world of chess,” Sameer Pathak, CEO, Global Chess League said.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) The 2024 European Championship has reached its final legs, as only four teams remain of the original 24 that entered the competition. Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands are the four contenders remaining in the race for European glory.

Spain are the favourites heading into the semifinals. Luis Da le Fuente’s men have been the best outlet at the Euros, which showed in their recent outing, where they defeated hosts Germany in what was a heartbreaking result for Deuschland.

The side has scored 11 goals at the tournament so far, despite being one of the best defensive units at the tournament, conceding only two goals (2-1 vs Germany and 4-1 vs Georgia). However, the team will be worried as their strong defensive lineup has been damaged ahead of their match against France.

Pedri will miss the game due to a knee injury he suffered in the quarterfinals. Along with Pedri, Carvajal and Normand will miss the game due to picking up suspensions in the quarterfinal.

France, on the other hand, have not been up to the standards that the side has set over the past major tournaments. The side is yet to score a goal from open play in the tournament. They have only scored three goals so far in the campaign, with two being own goals and one being a penalty scored by Mbappe in their final Group Stage game against Poland.

Another cause for concern for the team will be the reduced impact of Kylian Mbappe. The captain of the Les Bleus suffered a broken nose in their opening game against Austria and has struggled to find his footing in games since, with the Real Madrid forward even admitting that the mask is causing him trouble playing.

“He might not have been here at all, so we need to look at it in a positive light. Kylian is here, even if he is not at 100 percent, and I know that has an impact on the opposition, who are forced to adapt to him,” said Deschamps to TF1 on Sunday.

France are aiming to win their first European crown since 2000, while Spain’s last victory came at the 2008 edition.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) International wushu players Ayeera Chisti and Komal Nagar will grab a lot of attention in the northern zonal round of the Khelo India women’s wushu league to be held at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala from July 9 to 13.

A total 350 athletes across sub-junior, junior, and senior categories will be competing in the North Zonal meet that features both Sanda (fighting) and Taolu (forms).

The event is open to wushu players from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

The North Zonal event follows the South Zonal event held last month in Karnataka. After the four zonal meets, the national ranking championship will be held.

The Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports funds the Rs 7.2 lakh prize money competition conducted by the Wushu Federation of India.

The top eight wushu athletes from the sub-junior, junior and senior events will get cash incentives.

The women’s wushu league will provide an opportunity to several players wanting to make it big like international medallists Ayeera (18 years) and Komal (19 years), who train at the NSNIS Patiala centre.

“I am very excited to play in my home ground here in my third Khelo India women’s wushu league, having won gold in the last two championships,” said Ayeera, who debuted in this competition in 2022.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Ayeera, who will take part in the senior 52kg Sanda category, won a bronze at the junior wushu world championship in Indonesia in 2022. She also landed a gold at the international wushu championship in Georgia in 2022 as well as a gold at the Russian Moscow Stars Wushu International Championship in 2024.

“The Khelo India women’s league is very important for a lot of girls especially looking at the future and I’m thankful to the government for this. As for me, I want to clinch gold medal at the Asian Games in the 52kg category and become the first woman to achieve this feat for India in this weight division. Before that, I am aiming for the gold at the senior Asian championships in China this September,” she added.

Chandigarh’s Komal, gold medallist at the Russian Moscow Stars Wushu International Championship 2023 in Sanda, said “Getting an opportunity to play one more tournament in the calendar year besides the nationals, bolsters our confidence.

“The Khelo India Women’s league gives us a good playfield for our performance assessment, understand flaws in our game and areas to work on,” said Chandigarh’s Komal, who started learning self-defence techniques when she was 14.

–IANS

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Wimbledon, July 8 (IANS) Novak Djokovic ahead taking on Holger Rune in the Round of 16 of the Wimbledon on Monday at centre court suggested that there may be a “lot of fireworks on the court” in the match against a tricky Dane.

Rune has won two of the pair’s five ATP head-to-head meetings, and those two have been among the biggest victories of his young career. Djokovic is set to compete in the second week at Wimbledon for the 16th time, meanwhile this is just Rune’s 12th major.

“When it comes to playing on the court and competing, obviously we both have that fire,” Djokovic said. “I’m sure that on Monday we’ll see a lot of fireworks on the court. He’s a spectacular player, no doubt. He loves the big stage, loves playing on grass. I think he’s a very, very tricky opponent. It’s going to take my best tennis to win,” said Djokovic in the pre-match conference.

The Serbian’s hunt for the record tying eighth Wimbledon trophy lives on as aims to tie Roger Federer for most Wimbledon titles in men’s singles. The 37-year old won the coveted Grand Slam consecutively in 2021 and 2022 but lost the final of the 2023 to young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.

“Rune’s a spectacular player, no doubt. He loves the big stage, loves playing on grass. I think he’s a very, very tricky opponent. It’s going to take my best tennis to win. I actually get along very well with [Rune]. He’s a very nice guy, always has been to me and to my team, and vice versa.I always try to be available to him for any practice or advice or guidance or anything like that,” added Djokovic.

The 21-year old rising sensation Rune defeated South Korea’s Kwon Soon-Woo 3-0 in the first round and defeated Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild 3-1 before facing a tough matchup against French Quentin Halys, a battle in which he fought back from 2-0 down and went on to win 3-2 to set up the duel against the ‘Joker.’

Rune owns the seventh-best winning percentage against the Top 10 (45.5%) among active players, trailing only Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, according to ATP stats.

“I’m expecting a tough battle. I think that’s always how it’s going to be when you play Novak. He’s one of the toughest competitors of all time and one of the most successful players, so I’m expecting nothing but a great level from him,” said Rune.

–IANS

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Dallas (USA), July 8 (IANS) San Francisco Unicorns registered a comprehensive six-wicket win against LA Knight Riders in the fourth match of the 2024 Major League Cricket.

Electing to bowl first at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, San Francisco Unicorns limited the LA Knight Riders to 165/6, with debutant Broady Couch (2/24) and Harris Rauf (2/38) bagging two wickets each, before blistering half-centuries from Finn Allen (63) and Matthew Short (58) orchestrated a swift run chase for the Unicorns.

Andre Russell’s (40*) late surge proved too little for the LA Knight Riders, whose star batters such as David Miller (24), Shakib Al Hassan (35) and Jason Roy (26) failed to capitalise on their starts.

San Francisco Unicorns’ run chase saw opener Jake Fraser Mcgurk (9) fall early, caught behind on Spencer Johnson’s bowling. However, Finn Allen looked eager to make a quick meal of the target. The right-handed opener smashed Russell for two consecutive sixes in the fifth over, followed by three consecutive sixes of Shakib Al Hassan in the next over, to complete five maximums in just as many deliveries. At the end of the powerplay the Unicorns were firmly in the driver’s seat with a score of 67/1.

Opener Matthew Short switched gears following the powerplay, striking Corne Dry for two more sixes in the seventh over. In the eighth over, Fin Allen brought up his half-century in 23 deliveries, while Matthew Short continued to clear the ropes with ease, bringing up his half-century soon after in 23 balls too, comprising five sixes and three fours.

When the colossal 116-run stand between Allen and Short was finally dented by Sunil Narine in the 12th over, the Unicorns were cruising to their target, needing only 29 runs in 48 balls. While Finn Allen became Spencer Johnson’s second wicket of the night in the 13th over, Josh Inglis (15), Corey Anderson (11), and Hassan Khan (2) helped the Unicorns reach their target in 15.2 overs.

Spencer Johnson was the leading wicket-taker for the LA Knight Riders with figures of 3/36.

Earlier, San Francisco Unicorns bowlers did well to restrict the LA Knight Riders. By the end of the powerplay, LA Knight Riders were 42/2, having lost the wickets of Sunil Narine (6) and Unmukt Chand (0). Opener Jason Roy (26) looked threatening and cracked four boundaries in his 18-ball stint before he was cleaned up by Liam Plunkett in the seventh over.

The experienced Shakib Al Hassan (35), and Nitish Kumar (20) came together to put on the biggest partnership of the innings. The pair put on 45 runs in 31 deliveries in the middle overs before Abrar Ahmed and Brody Couch dismissed the pair in consecutive overs.

The dangerous David Miller (24) and the hard-hitting Andre Russell (40*) constructed a 34-run stand. However, Miller was scalped by Haris Rauf in the 17th over, just as the LA Knight Riders looked to step on the accelerator. Russell’s 25-ball cameo comprising three sixes and two fours guided them to 165/6.

Brief scores: LA Knight Riders 165/6 in 20 overs (Andre Russell 40*, Shakib Al Hassan 35; Brody Couch 2-24) lost to San Francisco Unicorns 166/4 in 15.2 overs (Finn Allen 63, Matthew Short 58; Spencer Johnson 3/36) by six wickets.

–IANS

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