Sidhant Mohapatra

Proud Indian
Proud Odia

[London Chess Classic @london_chess]

A London Chess Classic debut for @NihalSarin!

Fresh from winning team silver with India at the Chess Olympiad, Nihal joins us for his first London Chess Classic.

Organised by @schoolschess and sponsored by @xtxmarkets

📸 Photos: @MichaWalusza for @FIDE_chess

[Jyotirmoy Halder @iemjyo]

🇮🇳♟️🗣️ Koneru Humpy: "After the rest day, I completely fell sick.

"I was having diarrhoea, stomach ache, then I was taking medicines. So it was really tough for me.

"Probably if it was not representing India, if it was a private team event, I would have taken a rest and asked the other player to play. But I felt like my presence was very important to hold on the top board, and since Vaishali was also not in good shape, I never had the thought of taking a rest. Somehow, I was just taking medicine and going and playing every day."

🚨▶️ Today, legend @humpy_koneru is joining us at TOI Sports. As we look back at India's medal-winning campaigns at the #ChessOlympiad with this exclusive interview series, Humpy opens up about playing through illness to help the women's team win bronze while also bagging an individual medal.

The 39-year-old reveals how diarrhoea and stomach pain forced her to take medicines and play almost every day. She also discusses the physical demands of playing 10 of 11 rounds, Vaishali's struggles, and what lies ahead.

Read the full interaction here:
https://t.co/9o8hIoQZwT

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

YOUNGEST WGM IN HISTORY OF CHESS!

Bodhana Sivanandan has become the youngest player ever to complete the Woman Grandmaster title requirements, at 11 years, 6 months and 18 days. Formal FIDE approval is still pending.

Playing on board one for England at the Olympiad in Samarkand, she scored 8/11 with six wins, four draws and just one loss. She also earned her second IM norm.

Her wins included WGM Janelle Mae Frayna (2260) and FM Juliana Sayumi Terao (2200).

All four draws came against players rated higher than Bodhana's starting 2354: IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (2402), WFM Anastasiia Hnatyshyn (2463), IM Mai Narva (2411) and GM Nana Dzagnidze (2478). Her only loss was to IM Deysi Cori (2316).

A performance rating of 2432 and a gain of 27.6 points take her Olympiad-based projected rating to 2382.

We loved having Bodhana join our Round 3 commentary after her 3/3 start, and were really impressed with her analysis. It was lovely to see her enjoying the positions and sharing her ideas with us.

"I'm happy to do it (achieve WGm title), but I want to keep going and keep making history as well, instead of just stopping here," she told FIDE after the Olympiad.

The WGM milestone is another step on a journey that is about getting better. We wish Bodhana, her family and her entire team all the best as she works towards the IM and GM titles!

Photos: Rafal Oleksiewicz/FIDE

[President of India @rashtrapatibhvn]

The nation is proud of Captain Smit Machchhar. His heroic courage and incredible presence of mind have deeply touched us all.

Even after being seriously injured in a moment of grave peril, he remained determined to protect the lives of others. His bravery and quick response helped prevent a major tragedy and saved many precious lives.

I salute his indomitable spirit. I pray for his speedy recovery and good health.

[Hemant Mohapatra @MohapatraHemant]

All hijackers are stupid but the extra stupid ones try to hijack a plane full of 180 Israelis all of whom have gone through some of the best military training the world has to offer & an Indian pilot who thinks honor and karma are bigger than his own life. Get well soon Capt'n 🫡

[Vidit Gujrathi @viditchess]

True hero, captain machchhar 🫡
Amazing bravery and presence of mind.

[Israel Foreign Ministry @IsraelMFA]

This man is a hero.

Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian captain of flydubai Flight 1073, fought back after being stabbed in the cockpit.

Despite being severely injured, he managed to unlock the cockpit door - allowing Israeli passengers and the Emirati crew to intervene and save all the passengers.

Together, their extraordinary courage saved 174 lives.

Indian. Israeli. Emirati.

Different nationalities. One extraordinary act of courage. 🇮🇳🇮🇱🇦🇪

We wish Captain Machchhar a full and speedy recovery.

[GM Jacob Aagaard @GMJacobAagaard]

The face of a hero

[NDTV Profit News @NDTVProfit]

Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian aviator, has been identified as the flydubai pilot who allegedly fought off his co-pilot during a mid-air cockpit clash, according to sources.

The co-pilot allegedly attempted to sabotage the aircraft’s systems, triggering a confrontation that briefly raised fears of a hijacking. Captain Machchhar was stabbed during the clash and was left bloodied and struggling to speak.

Fellow pilots subsequently took over the cockpit and the flight was diverted to Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. The incident involved a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight carrying up to 180 passengers.

[Office Of Vijay Patel @VijayGajeraO]

So it was Indian pilot Smit Machchhar who saved the lives of 200-plus people on a Flydubai flight.

Reportedly, his Omani co-pilot stabbed him and tried to crash the flight, but Smit gained control and saved many lives.

[Joy Bhattacharjya @joybhattacharj]

Not an Emirati pilot. An Indian pilot. Make Smit Machchhar famous, he saved over 150 lives!

[Swayams Mishra @swayams2150]

Proud to be part of the Indian women’s team that brought home bronze, while the Open Team fought hard for silver. 🥉🥈🇮🇳

Together, we brought home the prestigious Gaprindashvili Cup 2026! 🏆🇮🇳

[அழகரசன் @KidambiGm]

https://t.co/oyNjdIbfbl Excellent article by Grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna! Chess and sports enthusiasts should take a look

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

It's wonderful to see how the coach of the team GM Swayams Mishra bonds with the players and motivates them before the game.

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

Chola Chess, an initiative of the Chola Foundation, in partnership with Chess Gurukul, announces the First Chola Chess Open International Grandmasters Chess Tournament 2026. The tournament is strictly for players rated above 2250! The tournament is scheduled from 30th October to 7th November 2026. After 3 successful round-robin events, @CholaChess is back with an Open event.

Read to know more: https://t.co/PjKy3tobAo

[Srinath Narayanan @srinathchess]

Super tough day against Uzbekistan. Indian Open team’s first loss in any team event since 2022.

Starting from the 2024 Olympiad, we’ve had a ritual of picking our Player of the Day. Yesterday, it was unanimous: Nihal.
The message was: Whilst results do matter, the effort and process matter more. Results don’t always convey the full story. It doesn’t show the attitude behind.

Nihal played his heart and soul out. He could have played it safe, stayed solid, and likely, blameless. But he went for it from the word go, despite having Black. It was only because of his incredible fight that the team got into its best chance to beat Uzbekistan after 4 draws between the two powerhouse teams.

Every great result, including our 2024 Olympiad win came on the back of years of preparation coupled with earlier struggles and setbacks. Our result yesterday was a similar stepping stone towards some great result in the future.

The result didn’t go our way yesterday. But I am sure Nihal will win us many medals in both the near, and distant future. 🇮🇳❤️

[Srinath Narayanan @srinathchess]

Having a terrible experience at the @FIDE_chess 2026 Olympiad.

The team landed 5 hours ago at Samarkand airport. The team still haven’t been allotted rooms, with absolutely no clarity on when it’ll be allotted.

[Sidhant Mohapatra @ChessSidhant]

@RoizMichael83 Saw this position today in Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual!!

[Chess Enrich @ChessEnrich]

From random scrolling to structured practice. ♟️📈

Less guessing, more solving. Less stagnation, more progress.
With Chess Enrich, every move has a purpose.

#chess #chessenrich #chessplayer #chesscommunity #trending

[Sethuraman @sethuramanchess]

Thank you, @ChessBaseIndia, for bringing out the story of my father, who shaped my chess journey. He has been a chess coach, and for 25 years has organised tournaments and events for children, helping many young players get an opportunity to learn, compete and grow.