Chess World Cup: Mother’s pride makes father’s day

Chennai, August 22

The glint in R Nagalakshmi’s eyes and that disarming smile standing in a corner of a room while watching her son ace the battle of 64 squares has been one of the most photogenic moments of R Praggnanandhaa’s dream run during the ongoing FIDE World Cup in Baku.

3 Praggnanandhaa is the third youngest player after legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates event next year

The 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa, who forced a stalemate in 35 moves against five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen in the first game of their summit clash today, had none other than the iconic Gary Kasparov acknowledging the Indian Grandmaster’s mother’s role, which was akin to his own playing days.

Congrats to @rpragchess, and to his mother. As someone whose proud mama accompanied me to every event, it’s a special kind of support! The Indian defeated two New York cowboys! He has been very tenacious in difficult positions. Garry Kasparov, former world champion

The Indian sporting scenario is replete with examples of parents, who have had massive influence in shaping their children’s career.

Just like three-and-a-half decades back, the photograph of a young Viswanathan Anand playing chess while seated on a swing with his mother Sushila left a lasting impression, the satisfaction that was writ large on Nagalakshmi’s face after Praggnanandhaa’s win over Arjun Erigaisi won’t be forgotten either.

“I must credit my wife, who accompanies them to tournaments and is very supportive. She takes great care (of the two),” Rameshbabu, the proud father told PTI during an interaction from his Chennai residence.

A bank employee, Rameshbabu never had too much idea about chess before he decided that his children, daughter Vaishali and son Praggnanandhaa, need to cut down on

watching television.

“We had introduced Vaishali to chess so as to cut down on her TV viewing habits as a child. As it happened, the two children liked the game and decided to pursue it,” Rameshbabu recalled. “We are happy that the two are enjoying playing chess and also doing well thanks to their passion for chess.”

For the record, Vaishali, a woman GM, is also one of the most reputed young players on the international circuit.

While he talks to his wife and son every day, he didn’t get a chance after Praggnanandhaa’s victory over world No. 3 Fabiano Caruana in a marathon match.

“I talk to him and my wife regularly. But, I could not speak to him yesterday. He must have been tired after the marathon match against Caruana. I am very happy that he was able beat a top player like Caruana in a tense match,” he said.

Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa’s first coach Thiyagarajan, who runs the Bloom Chess Academy in the city, is overjoyed at the player’s phenomenal rise.

“He (Praggnanandhaa) came to me when he was four-and-a-half years old and his sister (Vaishali) was 7. I knew back then that he was a special talent. He was very quick to grasp things,” he said of his ward, who became a GM at the age of 12 years in June 2018. “They used to train at the academy for hours and then go back home and play and work again,” he added. — PTI

Strong defence is Praggu’s hallmark

Chennai: R Praggnanandhaa’s ability to defend seamlessly in pressure situations and the deductive mind to quickly gauge his opponents’ weakness is the hallmark of a world class player, national coach M Shyam Sundar said today.

According to GM Sundar, who is in Baku, Praggnanandhaa has an all-round game. “One of his biggest strengths is his ability to defend bad positions even against the absolute elite. His calculation abilities are excellent and he can confidently convert better positions to a win,” he said.

Most importantly, Praggnanandhaa is good in all formats, he reckons.

“I believe that’s one of the key factors that helped him reach the finals (here)! Pragg has very strong family support. The positive energy is definitely a bliss for him,” he said.

The emergence of a bunch of talented youngsters and a healthy competition among them is also making the players excel, he feels.

“It is heartening to see the growth of guys like D Gukesh, Pragg, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, etc. There is healthy competition among them and they keep excelling. Hoping to see these stars consistently perform well and inspire many more to take up the sport,” Sundar added.