How the Grand Chess Tour works, with the scoring system
Five events across classical, rapid and blitz, then a knockout final. Points accumulate differently at each time control.
J. R. Patel ·
Explainer
All coverage tagged Explainer.
How board order works in team chess
The captain decides who plays which board, and there is no rule requiring rating order. Here is why the World Champion is fourth.
J. R. Patel ·
How esports works at the 2026 Asian Games, and where India stands
Eleven medal events across fighting games, MOBAs and battle royales. The format, the qualification, and what a medal would actually mean.
J. R. Patel ·
How the Chess Olympiad works, and why India start as favourites
A Swiss-system team event across eleven rounds. India arrive as defending champions with four of their Budapest five and a record field of 400 teams.
J. R. Patel ·
The World Test Championship points system, explained with the numbers
Twelve points for a win, four for a draw, and a percentage table that makes a two-match series worth exactly as much as a five-match one.
J. R. Patel ·
The Hockey World Cup points system and format, explained
Three points for a win, one for a draw, and a tiebreaker order that decides more pools than the results do.
J. R. Patel ·
The ISL points system and season format, explained
Three points for a win, one for a draw, two trophies, and a tiebreaker order that decides more than the results do.
J. R. Patel ·
The Pro Kabaddi points system, explained with the numbers
Five points for a win, three for a tie, one for losing narrowly — plus every single way a point is scored on the mat.
J. R. Patel ·
How teams qualify for the Hockey World Cup
Continental championships do most of the work, and that is a deliberate design choice with real consequences for India.
J. R. Patel ·
What the Impact Player rule actually changed
A twelfth player sounds like a small tweak. It reshaped how a T20 innings is built, and quietly devalued the all-rounder.
J. R. Patel ·
How the Candidates Tournament works, with the scoring
Eight players, fourteen rounds, one point for a win — and a tiebreak system that has decided the whole thing more than once.
J. R. Patel ·
What a false nine actually does
Not a striker who drops deep. A striker whose movement forces the opposition centre-backs into a decision with no good answer.
J. R. Patel ·
How battle royale tournaments are scored, with the points table
Ten points for a win, one per elimination, and a leaderboard across many matches that rewards patience over highlights.
J. R. Patel ·
Reading a scorecard: what strike rate and economy really tell you
Two of the most quoted numbers in cricket are also two of the most misused. Here is what they measure, what they hide, and what to look at instead.
J. R. Patel ·
Expected goals, explained without the maths
xG is not a judgement on whether a chance should have been scored. It is a measure of how good the chance was.
J. R. Patel ·
The penalty corner, explained
A large share of goals at elite level come from one set piece. Here is exactly how it works and why it is so hard to defend.
J. R. Patel ·
Classical, rapid and blitz: the formats and time controls explained
The same game with three different clocks — and, in practice, three different skills with three separate world champions.
J. R. Patel ·
Why Indian pitches turn — soil, climate and preparation
Spin-friendly surfaces are not an accident of geography. They are made, and the making is far more interesting than the argument about it.
J. R. Patel ·
What people actually mean by "the meta"
Not the best strategy in theory — the best strategy given what everyone else is currently doing.
J. R. Patel ·
Corners, covers and ins: how a kabaddi defence is organised
Seven defenders, named positions, and a chain that only works if everybody holds their ground.
J. R. Patel ·
How the drag-flick rewrote hockey
One technique turned the penalty corner from a scramble into the most reliable scoring chance in the sport, and changed what a squad looks like.
J. R. Patel ·
How Elo ratings actually work, with the formula
A rating is not a score. It is a prediction, updated by exactly how wrong that prediction turned out to be.
J. R. Patel ·
How transfer windows work, and why deadline day exists
Two fixed periods a year, registration rules that matter more than the fee, and a deadline that creates its own weather.
J. R. Patel ·
How the Pro Kabaddi auction works
Salary purses, player categories, retention slots and the Final Bid Match card that makes the room tense.
J. R. Patel ·