Making the right moves

Sukhwant Basra

  

Praggnanandhaa. Can you mouth that? Practice. Practice hard for in years to come, the 12-year-old named R. Praggnanandhaa is likely to force you to remember him. Get used to that name’s mantric roll off the palate, its pranayamic timbre in the throat. After all, it’s a name that’s forcing itself on the consciousness of the some of the most cerebral people in the world. 

Praggnanandhaa is a chess prodigy from Chennai. He was the youngest ever to achieve the International Master norm at the age of 10. There are only 99 IMs in India. Last month, he became the second youngest player to hop to the next level: Grand Master (GM). He was 12 years and 10 months old. And the youngest? That was Russian Sergey Karjakin who was 12 years and seven months in 2003 when he zoomed into world recognition by earning the title. This is the same Karjakin who challenged number one Magnus Carlsen for the world title in 2016. Carlsen, for that matter, was 13 years and four months old when he became GM. India’s greatest chess player Vishwanathan Anand was 18. Get the drift?

Praggnanandhaa is the most exciting thing in world chess right now. For a nation starved of genuine sporting heroes, he promises world domination in a sport that is mentioned as Chaturanga in the Ramayana, where Ravana played it with his wife. The Persians may have made it Shatranj and then the chequered board may have evolved to chess, but the genesis is Indian. Perhaps, that’s why, it felt particularly good when Anand beat the world to be crowned its undisputed king in 2000. We had reclaimed our own game, except that now it’s a gruelling sport.

Anand, the name synonymous with chess in the Indian mindspace, minces no words when it comes to describing Praggnanandhaa. “We can conclude that he is very, very talented. It goes without saying because you don’t become a Grand Master at the age of 12 without being invariably talented.”

The man who was awarded India’s first Khel Ratna, our highest sporting honour, goes on to describe the young boy’s strengths: “I like his attitude. He is very modest and willing to work very hard. I feel his broad strategic understanding of the game is very healthy for his age.”

What’s this strategic understanding that Anand alludes to? After the first move, there are millions of possible variants that can unfold across the 64 squares that comprise the chess board. Good coaches, who can cost as much as 500 euros for four hours, teach their wards the grammar of chess. It’s a mathematical sport, certain positions can only yield certain outcomes. Learning the grammar implies figuring out the basics and then, just like language, weaving it into shades that can have bewildering complexity. Pull out the data of a million chess games and no two are ever going to be alike.

“The most striking thing about him is how humble he is, how hard-working he is. I think he loves the game a lot and I wish him success. I hope he will build on his talent and keep getting ahead,” says Anand. 

The way forward isn’t easy, but unlike Anand who had to discover that arduous path himself, Praggnanandhaa has people like Anand to mentor that journey. Anand’s advice comes from practical experience.

“What he must do to realise his potential is to keep practising and playing against stronger opponents.

“Play very often and get better slowly.

“It will take time but if you look at career paths of many of the players who became Grand Masters at a very young age that’s what happens.

“Karajkin now, for instance, is at the top and he took many years to get there.”

Praggnanandhaa is already making the right moves. Last week at the Leon Masters, a rapid chess invitational event, he nearly beat Wesley So, who is ranked world number two in the world in that format. Chess basically has three main formats: Standard, Rapid and Blitz. The game stays the same just the time allowed to make a move decreases in Rapid and Blitz. 

“He had a very good result in Leon. Despite the fact that he lost the match, it was a very impressive show against one of the world’s best Rapid players Wesley So, and I think he should take a lot of confidence from that result,” says Anand.

It’s not that Praggnanandhaa is the first one to show such prodigious talent. Way before him, in 2006, there was Parimarjan Negi. At 13 years and four months, Negi was also then the second youngest player to make the GM norm. By 2014, he had quit chess and gone off to Stanford University. Negi did not respond to queries. It’s not like junior success necessarily translates into senior stardom.

“The amount of money that a GM can make playing in India is lesser than a peon’s salary. Chess became financially unsustainable for Parimarjan. In India, we don’t have systems like China or Russia where the state and the federation take on the onus of grooming players,” explains Praveen Thipsay, India’s first norm holder, as titles in chess are called. He earned the International Master norm in 1985. 

Thipsay doesn’t hold back as he speaks of a sports culture that relies on individual drive instead of systematic synergy to build players. “Our players start well and become age-group champions but when they come to a specific level most of them have no chance of doing well. Most coaches and parents are too focussed on early success. Russians only start working hard when they earn the GM norm. Many of our kids burn out or just can’t afford to keep competing after a while,” he adds, bursting the bubble of hype just that wee bit.

For Praggnanandhaa to achieve what his potential suggests, a solid support system is required. “He will need better sponsorship to sustain him for the years of practice he will need to put in. He will need training from different coaches. Not that it will necessarily happen in his case but many a times our coaches have a tendency to hold onto their young wards. His needs will have to be constantly re-evaluated and training regularly upgraded. Carlsen worked with the likes of Kasparov (Garry, former world champion). Praggnanandhaa, too, will need similar exposure,” says Thipsay.

The man who has shaped Praggnanandhaa’s destiny in chess so far is his coach RB Ramesh. He won the British national title in 2002; our lot got so good that the natives were being beaten all the time, so they banned participation from Commonwealth nations in 2004! Ramesh has been coaching the prodigy for free since Praggnanandhaa was eight. “He will play even stronger opposition as he climbs the ladder, which is good for his growth,” says Ramesh. What drew him to his ward were the innate characteristics that define a winner: “He is very hard working and pragmatic. Does not brood over bad results… can shrug away bad results and go (forward) with positive energy. Lots of self-belief, high ambition with responsibility. Pragg is willing to slug it out to achieve his dreams.”

Ramesh was especially delighted that his ward could meet his idol Anand. “It’s (great) motivation to just meet and interact with a legend like Anand. He gave some practical advice…make friends abroad, eat what is available without being too choosy.” The legend also cautioned the young player to “…not let pressure of expectations from others interfere with his routine.” Praggnanandhaa’s routine before a match is quite simple: devout faith in God and precise planning. “He prays to God, prepares his openings as thoroughly as possible before the game. He stays calm, doesn’t walk around too much during the game,” says Ramesh.

The boy’s father R. Rameshbabu reveals that faith in a supreme power has been the cornerstone of the player’s life. “He was named by the priests of the Kalki Bhavan in Chennai. We don’t even know what his name means. We are followers and he regularly visits the temple before and after each tournament.” 

Chess may be a distraction to while the time for you and me, but for budding players, it’s akin a religion that demands hours of worship a day. “My son works on chess for about six hours a day. But other than that, he is like any regular kid who loves to watch TV, especially cartoons, does some cycling and now has started playing cricket too,” says Rameshbabu. He adds quickly, “Cricket and all are time-pass, chess is his sole love. Even TV isn’t for more than 30-odd minutes in a day.”

In Hindu mythology, Kalkin or Kalki, the god Praggnanandhaa’s family follows, is the incarnation of Vishnu that’s yet to come. This is the avatar that worshipers believe will usher in a new age. For now, an ardent devotee of the god is promising to bring about another revolution for Indian chess. Pray, he doesn’t lose his way.

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He will need better sponsorship to sustain him for the years of practice he will need to put in. He will need training from different coaches. Not that it will necessarily happen in his case but many a time our coaches have a tendency to hold on to their young wards. His needs will have to be constantly re-evaluated and his training regularly upgraded. Carlsen worked with the likes of Kasparov (Garry, former world champion). Praggnanandhaa, too, will need similar exposure.  — Praveen Thipsay

I like his attitude. He is very modest, is willing to work very hard and I feel his broad strategic understanding of the game is very healthy for his age. What he must do to realise his potential is to keep practicing and playing against stronger opponents. Play very often and get better slowly.... The most striking thing about him is how humble he is, how hard-working he is. I think he loves the game a lot and I wish him success.     — Vishwanathan Anand