Ganges Grandmasters become GCL 2026 champions BENGALURU: Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? Everyone does, right? Nobody had Ganges Grandmasters finishing on top of anything when Season 4 of the Global Chess League (GCL) began in Bengaluru just less than a fortnight ago. Six teams, a league stage so tight, and a final that…

America’s Levon Aronian and Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi BENGALURU: For most of the 20th century, the Chess Olympiad was one of the few arenas where the Cold War actually played out on a board. The Soviet Union treated the biennial team event as a matter of state prestige, fielding lineups stacked with world champions and winning…

India’s Smriti Mandhana hits her fifty (AP/PTI) The blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan at Edgbaston on Sunday not only delivered a commanding Indian victory but also set a new attendance record in the history of the Women’s T20 World Cup.A crowd of 18,814 spectators packed the stadium for the Group 1 encounter, making it…

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File) Fan groups from across the world are calling for FIFA president Gianni Infantino to step down after his controversial attempt to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.The petition, launched on Thursday with the hashtag #InfantinoOut, also demands major changes to FIFA to prevent similar controversies…

Brendon McCullum (AP Photo) English cricket’s fondness for Brendon McCullum’s acumen as a Test coach has ended with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sacking him on Sunday after four years in the job. ECB, however, has retained his services for the white-ball teams.Sunday’s development is a culmination of a tumultuous eight months which…