His intuitive powers are clearly above the ordinary
No doubt, the future presents a tougher passage, but given his talent and ability to work hard, Praggnanandhaa should continue to thrill chess lovers around the world.
The emergence of an extraordinary talent is always accompanied by hopes of witnessing the unprecedented. In the cerebral world of chess, where champions are becoming younger and younger, India continues to corner its share of global attention. Refreshingly, another glorious chapter has been added to the tale.
After Viswanathan Anand in the late 19■0s and Parimarjan Negi at the end of the millennium, Indian chess fans now have something and someone to feel excited about.
The steady rise of R. Praggnanandhaa, who is yet to turn 13, has been the delight of chess watchers in the country. Recently, this prodigious talent from Chennai became the country’s 52nd Grandmaster.
He made the third and final norm needed to become a GM at the Gredine Open in Ortisei, Italy. But what was significant about the youngster’s achievement was the fact that he is the country’s first preteen Grandmaster and the second youngest on the sport’s alltime list.
In the process, Praggu, as he is fondly called, emulated Negi’s feat of 2006 when he became the second youngestever GM. At present, Russia’s Sergey Karjakin retains the record of being the youngest GM, which he set in 2002. Negi has slipped to fourth on the list behind Karjakin, Praggnanandhaa and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
Quite understandably, India adding to the list of Grandmasters is no longer a source of excitement as it once was. For instance, the country’s 50th GM was Karnataka’s M. S. Thej Kumar, who became one in September 2017 at the age of 36. Saptarshi Roy, 32, joined the list in January this year, 13 years after he became an International Master.
As Anand once said, “these days, if you don’t become a Grandmaster before turning 15, the journey to be among the elite will be that much more difficult. Not everyone can become a world champion but one can enjoy the sport without being too harsh about the results.”
Praggnanandhaa gained the environment that helped him blossom as a chess talent. Father Rameshbabu and mother Nagalakshmi faced challenges in varying degrees but gave it all to support the chess careers of Praggnanandhaa and elder daughter R. Vaishali.
While Praggnanandhaa became the world under13 champion in 2013 and claimed the world under15 title in 2015 before becoming the youngest International Master in 2016, Vaishali continued to