The Praggnanandhaa effect

ldquoYou arenrsquot the lsquorunneruprsquothis is simply your lsquorunuprsquo to Gold and to greatnessrdquo This is what Mahindra Group chairperson Anand Mahindra wrote on his Twitter handle after Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa finished second best in the FIDE World Cup final on ThursdayHow often do first impressions shape our perceptions As the ageold saying suggests appearances can often be deceiving R Praggnanandhaa 18yearold took the chess world by storm after becoming the second India after Viswanathan Anand to reach the World Chess Final Praggnanandhaa a true embodiment of humility remained unaware of the magnitude of his tournament achievement However during his postgame interview he spoke candidly indicating that his remarkable journey might inspire others to embrace the sport more seriouslyIn a tough game that showcased his grit and patience the 18yearold held current World No 1 and Magnus Carlsen to a draw in two classical games before losing in the tiebreak Praggnanandhaarsquos World Cup campaign saw him outclass both World No2 Hikaru Nakamura and World No3 Fabiano Caruana His superhuman feats do not end there as he also became the third youngest player to qualify for the Candidates tournament after chess giant Bobby Fischer and Carlsen himselfInitiated into the sport at the behest of his parents who aimed to shield him from prolonged television exposure Pragg affectionately known as such has forged an individual trajectory towards successHis careerdefining accomplishments have already resonated with countless individuals Presently children across the globe are scouring online chess tutorialsUnder the aegis of Anand Praggnanandhaarsquos progress has been steadily ticking upward After defeating Carlsen in an elite online rapid chess tournament last year he brought chess to the front page of national dailies taking the fivetime world champion and everyone else by surprise He clinched the national under7 title and there has been no stopping him ever since He achieved the title of International Master at the tender age of 10 followed by the remarkable feat of becoming a Grandmaster just two years laterHe achieved an ELO rating of 2600 at 14 years and three months late in 2019 as reported by PTI until Covid19 engulfed the world But it could not dampen his spirits as he kept getting better at his game He fared exceptionally well in the 2021 Meltwater Champions Tour outclassing tournament favourites Sergey Karjakin Teimour Radjabov and JanKrzystof Duda and holding Carlsen to a drawAlso Read Is India the new talentchurning machine in chessPraggnanandhaa further made waves when he pulled off a stunning win in the rapid tournament in 2022 With this triumph he became the third Indian after Anand and Harikrishna to defeat the seemingly unbeatable CarlsenMuch like his mentor Anand family support has played a pivotal role in Praggnanandhaarsquos evolution as a chess player His mother Nagalakshmi has been a huge support and is a regular at international tournaments that he playsSomehow questions remain on Praggnanandhaas opening repertoire but he is undeniably a force to be reckoned with in the rapid and blitz formats a glimpse of which we were treated to not a long time ago With each passing day its evident that Praggnanandhaas skills are consistently on the rise His accomplishments at the age of 18 seem to suggest he is already on the path to greatnessHis remarkable feat in the FIDE World Cup has turned the spotlight firmly on him even as compatriots like D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi kept reminding us about the impact of chess on the Indian youth in recent yearsHowever determining Praggnanandhaas exact position within the esteemed ranks of Indian grandmasters is a matter that remains uncertain at this stage While it might be premature to definitively categorise him it is already evident that this exceptional prodigy undeniably brilliant is making his presence felt among the worlds finest players