It took R. Praggnanandhaa’s gate-crash into the recent World Cup final in Baku, Azerbaijan, to make a cricket-loving nation take note of the teenager’s prowess, like never before. The 18-year-old also earned a spot in the 2024 Candidates Tournament, leading to the next World Championship title match.
After being accorded a hero’s welcome at Chennai, Praggnanandhaa made a dash to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and joined the preparatory camp at Kolkata for the Asian Games. Despite all the rush, Praggnanandhaa took time to speak at length to The Hindu, reflecting on his recent exploits.
Q: On returning home to an unprecedented, euphoric welcome
Honestly, I didn’t expect this. After coming back to India, I could see so many people now know what’s happening (in chess). Also, it’s a different feeling, honestly. At airports, people are recognising me. Even when I check into hotels, they take note of me. Honestly, I could have enjoyed it being normal like before, without being recognised.
The tense quarterfinal victory over good friend Arjun Erigaisi
That was the match where we both did not give up. It showed our character, in a way, that we were not giving up. That was really good. He twice came back from defeats after I did the same following the loss in the opening game.
Reaching the board 30 seconds late for the sudden-death game against Arjun...
The explanation is there is a big digital clock, which displays the countdown to the next game. I thought it showed five minutes to go but in reality it was 50 seconds! So I went to wash my face and once I came out of the rest room, an arbiter told me the game had already started. But I did not panic. I walked to the board and played calmly to win.
Blanking second seed Hikaru Nakamura 2-0 in rapid tiebreaker
Apparently, Hikaru forgot the move-order and erred early in the first rapid game. Computer evaluation shows that I was winning, but it was not obvious for me. After a few moves, I realised that maybe I was actually winning! And that’s when I was beginning to feel tense. After a few good moves, I felt I should win this. In the second, I thought, I got a good position out of the opening, a position where I don’t risk much. Then I played pretty okay. I could have played better but for that situation, the game was really good.
The final against Magnus Carlsen
The first game was pretty solid. I was trying a bit and then I kind of misplayed it. I was not in any danger. And the second one, he (an unwell Carlsen) wanted to make a draw. I didn’t think it was a bad decision because I was also tired. In rapid games, I got my chance in the first one. But I think, compared to me, he has a lot of experience in such situations. I played impulsively in some positions, which is not my usual style. I always take time and don’t commit such mistakes. But it happened to me there.
