"All the best, Praggnanandhaa," screams a man from inside his car, even as he navigates peak hour traffic.
The 16-year-old reticent chess champion lets out a sheepish grin and flashes a quick thumbs up. At Chennai's Napier Bridge, a city landmark that has been painted a striking black and white to promote the Chess Olympiad 2022, Praggnanandhaa doesn't draw a mob of fans. But he does make heads turn, with many recognising him and requesting selfies.
All this is very new to the young superstar of Indian chess, but he acknowledges the recognition patiently. "I have been on the other side not long ago," he says, "Growing up dreaming to make it big in chess, I vividly remember the times of taking pictures with Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand. There's also a special photo that I took with Carlsen (Magnus Carlsen) when he visited India."
Praggnanandhaa — or Pragg, as most people call him — is basking in the love and support that the sport he's most passionate about is receiving in the city. "That this place [Napier Bridge] has completely transformed like a chess board gives me great happiness; so many people visit to just see this and take photos." He adds, "It is overwhelming that the Olympiad is happening right here at home; it feels like a dream. The kind of promotions and effort to make it a grand event is special. It feels like a festival," says the sportsman, who, in 2016, made history by becoming the youngest international grandmaster.
He takes much pride in the fact that awareness about chess is an all-time high now, particularly in the city. "This [Chess Olympiad 2022] will not only result in new players taking it up, but also encourage many people who have once played it but disbanded it due to other commitments to re-start. For professional players, it means better and bigger opportunities. It is certainly a big boost for Indian chess."
A fine balance
In the build up to highly anticipated event, Pragg has already completed two intense training camps in the city. Beside, he will draw richly from the experience of two successful international tournaments in recent times; Pragg won the Paracin Open in Siberia just a few weeks back, and performed well at the Chessable Masters in May.
While these in-person events are his favourite, the chess prodigy has also been digging online chess in the last few years. "After lockdowns, online chess has seen a phenomenal growth. Even world champions started participating in such online tournaments. I too took to it, and it has been a great experience. Now, with many live events starting to happen, I am trying to maintain a balance between them and online events."
He considers every game, online or offline, as 'challenging'. "All opponents want to do well too," he says matter-of-factly, "But, my games with the top ten players in the world have all been most challenging. Especially my games with Carlsen [whom he beat in the Airthings Masters earlier this year]."
While he spends about seven hours with chess every day, even when he's not playing tournaments, Pragg also has a fitness routine: he hits the gym for workouts. "It is important, especially because we are sitting at one place for long stretches of time," he says. Besides physical fitness, mental fitness is at the core of Pragg's work ethic. "In chess, it is crucial. It's important to be positive during the start of the game but also crucial to remain so... I tell myself to not crack under pressure, especially after making mistakes. I keep speaking to myself during games."
Chennai and chess has a special bond that dates back to a few decades, with the city throwing up several names who have done well in the international circuit. "We have Manuel Aaron sir and Viswananthan Anand sir to look up to. It is thanks to them and their accomplishments that many aspirants in the city took chess seriously."
Anand, he says, has been a pillar of support. By guiding him and playing private chess games for practise, the 52-year-old has helped Praggnanandhaa grow. "He has always been analysing my games and giving great feedback. My coach, RB Ramesh, and Anand sir keep discussing me, and that gives me a lot of happiness."
In Chennai, or really anywhere in India, Pragg says he feels at home, but when he's touring abroad — which has now become a regular affair — he does feel the jitters. "I just couldn't manage the jet lag initially. During my first under-8 international tournament at Slovenia, I remember being so jet-lagged that I started sleeping in between the games. Since then, before every international tournament, I try tweaking my sleeping and eating schedules at home based on the time zone I was going to fly to. All that helped me. Now, I am in a much more comfortable position handling such things."
Pragg acknowledges that all this success and fame would not have been possible without corporate support — Ramco Group has pitched in from his initial playing days — or the encouraging words of his parents, Rameshbabu and R Nagalakshmi.
"As a child, whenever I got bored during games, my amma used to motivate me, and accompany me for international tournaments lest I feel homesick." There's another person in the household who has played a key role in his eventful journey: his sister, Vaishali, who herself is now an International Master in chess. Praggnananda's sporting journey started thanks to her; as a three-year-old, he would knock over all the chess coins she was playing with, thus prompting their parents to get him a board of his own.
Even today, when they're home, the siblings indulge in a friendly game or two. "We love playing bullet games. It's a format where we make really quick moves," he says, pausing to add, "Think of it like a super over in cricket."
So, who wins those games? "Well, we keep beating each other."
