News Broadcasting
DD Sports to air Commonwealth Chess highlights
MUMBAI: DD Sports will have a 25 minute highlight package of The Commonwealth Chess Championship every night. The event takes place at Hotel Mirador in the suburb of Andheri from 10 – 19 January.
25 grandmasters and 50 International Masters will participate from 15 countries including Vietnam, Ukraine, Russia.
In addition to the pubcaster’s coverage, live online coverage will be available at Venus chess Academies website. Along with the Commonwealth Chess Championship, the International Open Chess tournament will also take place. The Gold medallist gets Rs 300,000, the silver medallist Rs 200,000 and the Bronze winner takes home Rs 100,000. The top seed is Britains super Grandmaster Nigel Short. The second seed is Indias K Sasikiran. In the womans section, grandmaster S. Vijaylaxmi will battle it out with Koneru Humpy for the crown.
The event is being staged at a cost of Rs six million. The sponsors include MTNL. Addressing the media last evening Short said, “I last participated in a Commonwealth tournament in 1985. While the draw is a strong one there is nobody that really strikes me with terror. India is not a developing chess nation but a developed one. What youll need to do is hold international tournaments at regular intervals so that the young players get exposed to the Grandmasters and make their way up. India has a good chance of a medal at this years Chess Olympiad.”
Short also said that he was not in favour of Chess being a part of the Olympic Games.”I am a purist to a certain extent. Chess is the ultimate mind sport. When it becomes a small event in the grand scheme of things it gets lost easily.”
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
