Grandmasters R. Pragnanandha, Arvindh Chittambaram, five -time world champions Vishwanathan Anand, GMS Kartikayan Murali and M. Pranesh, in the launch of Chola Chess in Chola Chess on Wednesday. , Photo Credit: R. Ravindran
After winning the Uzches Cup Masters by the end of last month, R. Pragganandha became the world number 4 (ELO 2779) in the live rating and resulted in the highest ranked Indians.
This was his third title of the year, after winning the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Vijak on Zee and the Superbat Chess Classic in Bucharest. The latter was his first Grand Chess Tour (GCT) title.
“This year has been good for me till now. And I hope it will continue. We (his and his coach RB Ramesh) made some changes in his game, of course. I think the results are showing. Last year, things did not go in my way. Ramesh and I, we were working, trying to change things. On Wednesday, we were trying to change.
Pragganandha, who is now above the Fid Circuit Leaderboard, was careful that other players could catch and emphasize the importance of finishing as a leader to qualify for the candidates.
“So, he was a joint-first in four tournaments, out of which he won one. He won the other three. But in four, the joint-first-first is already a spectacular beginning. He is a sensational year overall. I think, for him, this year, this year, a response to (winning) candidates (winning) candidates last year.”
When asked about the recent Jibs of World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, World Champion D. Gukesh, Anand said: “They come with this field. You cannot expect to be a world champion and say that people will only be good for me. You just have to face it.”
Published – July 09, 2025 08:43 PM IST
