Legendary chess player Viswanathan Anand has said that young Indian grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa "may have slowed down a bit" in the lead-up to the FIDE Candidates tournament but will be mentally tuned for the challenge. Eight leading players in the Open category will vie for top honours when the Candidates tournament begins in Cyprus on March 28, with the winner earning the right to challenge reigning world champion D. Gukesh for the world title later this year.

Anand, who is also the vice-president of FIDE, indicated that Praggnanandhaa -- the only Indian in the men's section -- will face stiff competition from the likes of Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, adding that predicting the eventual winner would be difficult. Asked who his personal favourite was, Anand said that several players intrigued him.