Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, a grandmaster of chess from India, was greeted warmly upon his arrival at Chennai International Airport on Wednesday after winning a silver medal at the FIDE World Cup 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. To welcome the Indian sensation, students were waving the tricolor and some of them had banners that read, “World Cup Runner Up.”
India’s Chess prodigy, R Praggnanandhaa, who made the entire nation proud with his exploits, mentioned that he ‘felt really great.’
“It feels really great. I think it is good for Chess,” the Indian chess grandmaster told the reporters.
After returning to Chennai, Praggnanandhaa said, “I am very happy to see so many people coming here and it is good for Chess.”
All India Chess Federation representatives and State Government representatives were at the airport to welcome India’s rising star return to the country.
Praggnanandhaa’s sister Vaishali was elated to see the kind of welcome her brother had recieved at the airport.
“I had witnessed something like this 10 years back, when Viswanathan (Anand) sir had won World Championship match. He had a fantastic welcome. We went to the airport actually to welcome him. It’s amazing to see that Pragg is getting the same love from all the people” she said.
Praggnanandhaa outplayed Magnus Carlsen, the world’s top player, in the FIDE World Cup final match. The Indian chess grandmaster had to settle for second place in the 2023 FIDE World Cup after Carlsen defeated Praggnanandhaa to win the tournament title for the International Chess Federation. The fact that the 18-year-old Indian has earned a spot in the FIDE Candidates tournament gives him cause for optimism. With black pieces, the Norwegian chess grandmaster won the first game of the Rapid Chess tiebreaker, and with white pieces, he managed to hold on for a draw.
