Making India proud, R Praggnanandhaa from Chennai won the Under-18 Chess Championship which was held in Mumbai.
Congrats!! Very proud of you!! In our next session in Chennai you have some nice games to show me !! https://t.co/NacMRaIOmB
— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) October 12, 2019
The 14-year-old Grand Master finished with draw in the 11th and final round against Valentin Buckels from Germany, hence emerging on the top with 9 points.
A big congratulations to Praggnanandhaa R. for winning the under-18 World Championship. Pragg scored 9.0/11, performed at an Elo of 2700+ and gained 19 Elo points to reach a live rating of 2586.
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) October 12, 2019
Congratulations Pragg, you have made the entire nation proud!
Photo: Amruta Mokal pic.twitter.com/9NNpjtmy8D
Hearty congratulations to wonder kid, Praggnanandhaa 🇮🇳 on winning the World Under 18 Championship (@WorldChess2019 ) 🎉🎊@rpragchess scored an impressive and unbeaten 9/11 with a performance rating over 2700. 🏆
— Chess.com – India (@chesscom_in) October 12, 2019
India is proud of you, champ! #WYCC2019 #ChampionsofLife pic.twitter.com/39gnIUhSCD
Overall, the Championship ended on a high note for India, as we won 6 other medals. This includes 3 silver and 3 bronze.
Before heading out for the World junior championship next week, Praggnanandhaa took out time to interact with media houses and said:
I chose to play in the under-18 category because I was looked for stiffer competition. Being the second seed and winning the title feels good.
World Youth Under 18 winner Praggnanandhaa 🇮🇳 is just 14 years old!
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) October 12, 2019
Right after this event, he will travel to the World Under 20 Championship starting in New Delhi on October 14. Do you think he can win that too?
📷by @davidllada #chess #FIDE #YouthChess #IndianChess #WYCC2019 pic.twitter.com/I1UaaanfFV
He’s just 14 and he has won the World Under 18 Championship!! Moments after his win, the ever humble, Praggnanandhaa is greeted by his loving mother and fans…#WorldYouthChessChampionship #ChampionsOfLife #chess pic.twitter.com/ydDFwFy5HS
— World Youth Chess Championship (@WorldChess2019) October 12, 2019
Praggnanandhaa has previously been the under-8 champion in 2013 and the under-10 winner in 2015.
Here’s hoping he achieves many such milestones.
