‘Chess Wimbledon’ starts with world champion challenged by rising stars

The annual “chess Wimbledon” at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands is unusually interesting this year. Its 14-player field matches the reigning world champion, India’s Dommaraju Gukesh, against a range of rivals who include four of the eight Candidates who will meet in March to decide his 2026 challenger, another three grandmasters from the world top 10, the controversial US star Hans Niemann, plus a 14-year-old Turk who is breaking age records.Gukesh’s unimpressive recent results mean the world Nos 5 and 8, Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, will aim to finish ahead of him. Germany’s world No 4, Vincent Keymer, had a good 2025, while the home nation’s world No 6, Anish Giri, often performs well in this event.Turkey’s Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, 14, is already famous for his “Turkish Immortal” in the Fide Grand Swiss and has broken several world age records

John Higgins rides wild fluke to win final three frames and reach Masters semi

John Higgins benefited from an outrageous fluke as he came from 5-3 down to beat world champion Zhao Xintong 6-5 on the final ball and reach the semi-finals of the Masters at Alexandra Palace.Higgins made a horrible mess of a plant, only for one of the reds to fly into the opposite pocket and the cue ball to somehow land on the black, en route to squaring the match at 5-5. The 50-year-old Scot then took a tight decider, clearing the table from the final red to move one step closer to a third Masters title.“I was so lucky,” he told the BBC afterwards. “It was criminal … It’s tough out there

‘It’s a long and difficult dream’: João Fonseca on practice, patience and matching Sinner and Alcaraz

Brazilian teenage tennis sensation says he cannot control expectations but is looking forward to challenging the best again in 2026, starting at the Australian Open‘My dream is to become world No 1, win grand slam titles and make history for Brazil,” João Fonseca says with simple purity as we reach the crux of his huge ambition. Fonseca is 19 and he makes that succinct list of his goals sound almost as casual as a few fun things a more ordinary teenager might aim to do this weekend. But Fonseca is different.He is a generational talent who, in recent years, has been spoken of as a future superstar amid predictions that he might have the best chance of denting the dominant hold that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner exert over men’s tennis. But, as time in Fonseca’s company proves, he is remarkably grounded and mature for his age

Tour de France reveals plans for six UK stages with historic 2027 Grands Départs

The men’s Tour de France will start in Scotland for the first time in 2027 and make its first visit to Wales when Britain stages the Grand Départ of the men’s and women’s races in the biggest festival of elite cycling on the isles since London 2012.Across six days of racing on British roads, the men’s Tour will visit Edinburgh, Carlisle, Keswick, Liverpool, Welshpool and Cardiff, while the Tour de France Femmes races from Leeds to Manchester, then to Sheffield and also includes a central London stage. On Thursday night all host cities were illuminated by yellow beams in recognition of them staging the Tour.Simon Morton, UK Sport’s director of events, said that the ambition was “to host a massive sporting event that would genuinely thread together the countries, cities, and communities of Great Britain.“The route details do just that, enabling us to reach, unite, and inspire people right across the country – providing moments of joy for millions, bringing communities together, and delivering lasting benefits beyond race day

Razor’s All Blacks lacked sharp edge but sacking Robertson does not guarantee revival | Robert Kitson

As a keen surfer Scott Robertson is well aware how abruptly situations can change. One minute you are riding the perfect wave, the next you’re being dumped from a great height and having your world tipped upside down. Which is essentially how “Razor” will now be feeling after being ousted as All Blacks head coach barely two years into his tenure.On the surface he was everything New Zealand rugby could have wished for. The serial domestic winner who had guided the Crusaders to seven successive Super Rugby titles, the empathetic everyman with the break-dancing skills to match

Tension at the tennis: inside the high-stakes world of racket stringing

Underneath Rod Laver Arena, a group of tennis specialists cut and twist and weave – intently focused on their preparation for the action on the blue court a few metres above their heads.In the lead-up to the Australian Open, these experts maintain a consistent workload, training their muscles and technique, ready to peak as if they were the athletes taking to the courts themselves.But they won’t step on the court – their unique domain is tennis rackets. Racket stringing, specifically, and as the Yonex string team leader, Jim Downes, has learned over his 30-year stringing career, “It’s a high demand job.”The world’s top tennis players are, unsurprisingly, “very particular” about how their rackets are strung, Downes says, referring to how tight or loose the strings that crisscross the frames are pulled