Pragg-mania sweeps Kolkata as fans swarm to sign the World Cup finalist’s autograph
The 18-year-old Candidates qualifier who is competing at the Tata Steel Chess India event downplay down praise but claims, “I feel like I have the potential to be the world champion.”
At Kolkata’s Bhasha Bhawan, there is a frenzied hive of activity for a Monday evening. About 50 autograph-hungry children are waiting at the theater gate with any notebook or scrap of paper they can find. Some are just out of school and their mothers are toting satchels.
Some of India’s best chess prodigies are being surrounded by eight finger-locked, beady-eyed security guards as they laboriously try to get past the ragtag crowd of screaming youngsters, moms, and fervent media personnel.
After the drawing of lots for the open part of the Tata Steel Chess India, Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh, Vidit Gujrathi, and Arjun Erigaisi are escorted away from the commotion. “Oi je Pragg (That’s Pragg),” yells one child in Bangla into the ear of his friend.
The start of a new era, if you will, for Indian chess began in August when Gukesh replaced Viswanathan Anand as the country’s top player after 37 years and four Indian chess players advanced to the FIDE World Cup’s fierce quarterfinals. However, Pragg making it to the World Cup final has received the most attention. In the process, he gained entry into the Candidates Tournament and the nation’s attention.
“I didn’t anticipate this kind of response. Everybody can identify a chess player. I anticipated it happening eventually. I didn’t anticipate it to occur that quickly. In a 40-minute rambling conversation with journalists on Monday morning, Praggnanandhaa said.
“It’s great to witness all the excitement. It demonstrates the expansion of chess in India. More new, young players and sponsors will join the competition. The game will continue to expand. That makes me very thrilled as a chess enthusiast.
But what he says after that gives the impression that the 18-year-old is older than his teenage years.
“I try not to focus too much about the praise since it may quickly enter your thoughts. I put good preparation and performance first. It’s crucial for me to motivate people because so many people now follow the sport. Then, perhaps, there will be an increase in young chess players. Pragg speculated that perhaps someone with even more promise will emerge.
The fact that he gets questioned about being the next Vishy Anand of India should perhaps not come as a surprise. He brushes off such hasty comparisons in the same fluid manner that he avoids traps on the 64 squares.
“That is a very, very long distance away. India has a large number of talented players for us. I don’t take things like that too seriously, he continued, before adding, “I don’t feel the pressure (yet) from expectations. Maybe I’ll experience it later. I make an effort to avoid being under other people’s expectations.
Pragg’s craze
Anyone who has been in Pragg’s neighborhood during the World Cup has found themselves in the spotlight due to the Pragg mania that has gripped India. Sridharan Madhusudhanan, the Indian ambassador to Azerbaijan, invited Pragg and his mother for dinner while they were in Baku for the World Cup. He also occasionally brought them home-cooked meals to their hotel room. The diplomat had gotten numerous requests for interviews ever since that tale went viral, only to learn more about those brief exchanges with the youngster. At the Bhasha Bhawan on Monday, people repeatedly asked photographer Maria Emelianova, who captured the now-viral images of his mother Nagalakshmi.
Pragg received an excessive amount of attention and flower petals upon his return to the nation. As he emerged from the sun roof of a luxury car at Chennai airport, a crowd of reporters pressed him for answers. Anand Mahindra has already committed to donate an EV to the family. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Sports Anurag Thakur, and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin have all praised Pragg so far. On social media, even cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, R Ashwin, and Yuzvendra Chahal were quick to offer their congratulations.
The recent success of Indian players has increased interest in the Tata Steel Chess India this year as well, according to the organizers.
“There is unquestionably more interest in the event as a result of Praggnanandhaa and other Indian players’ performances at the World Cup. Chess has gained more popularity among the general people. Banerjee stated.
Many Indian athletes, like Anand and Pentala Harikrishna, mentioned their fond memories of Kolkata. Anand remembered the fans’ response to him.
On Monday, the day before the Tata Steel open event began, the city also showed Anand’s successors some of that fervent admiration.
Top players have long been drawn to the Tata Steel Chess India, now the nation’s main chess competition. Players like Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian, Wesley So, and Sergey Karjakin participated in the first event in 2018. Indians make up half of the field this year.
I’ve always liked visiting Kolkata. One of the super tournaments (events where top-ranked players are invited) taking place in India is Tata Steel Chess India. I had the opportunity to compete against Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian, and Anand Sir here for the first time in 2018. Here, he claims, “I got a taste of what top chess is all about.
Pragg is craving more now that he has a place at the top.
“I still have a lot to learn and get better at. I feel like I have the ability to be the world champion,” he remarked, before adding, “I can go much higher than where I am right now.”
