Sports Desk, AnyTV, New Delhi
Published by: Rohit Raj
Updated Tue, 22 Feb 2022 07:05 PM IST
Summary
India’s young Grandmaster Pragnananda created history by defeating world number one chess player Magnus Carlsen. Pragnananda’s sister Vaishali started playing chess as a hobby, but her brother made it a part of his life.
Pragnananda
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India’s young Grandmaster Pragnananda created history by defeating world number one chess player Magnus Carlsen. Pragnananda’s sister Vaishali started playing chess as a hobby, but her brother made it a part of his life. When young children of her age were attracted to toys, she had understood all the nuances of the game by then.
On Sunday, Pragnananda became the third player to do so when he defeated world No. 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen in 39 moves. Before him Viswanathan Anand and P Harikrishna have defeated Superstar of Norway. Pragnananda’s journey began when most of the children had no purpose in life.
When my wife Nagalakshmi and I saw that daughter Vaishali used to watch TV all day long, says Ramesh Babu, a polio-hit bank employee, to break her habit, she introduced him to chess. But we didn’t know the game would inspire Praga. Betty’s hobby led to interest in sports in Praga and the result is in front of you. I am glad that both my kids liked this game and decided to go ahead with it. At the same time, they are also enjoying this game.
Father credits Praga’s mother for achievements
The credit for all these achievements goes to my wife, says Ramesh Babu. There she goes with him to tournaments and arranges everything from his studies to sports.
Sister started playing in 6 years
Regarding this, 19-year-old female Grandmaster Vaishali says, I remember watching a lot of cartoons when I was 6 years old. To break this habit, my parents started sending me to chess and drawing classes. Slowly the game started getting fun and Praga also started taking interest.
Confidence boosted by victory over Carlsen
Praga’s confidence was affected due to a long hiatus when all tournaments were put on hold due to COVID, says Praga coach RB Ramesh, but the victory over Carlsen will surely boost his confidence. I am proud of his achievement.