Indian Grandmaster R Praganandha credits his mother’s timely words of encouragement after making history by becoming the first Indian to win the prestigious Norwegian chess title. The 20-year-old completed a remarkable turnaround in the tournament, defeating Germany’s Vincent Kemmer in the final round to secure the championship and add his name to the record books.Speaking after his historic victory on Friday, Praganandha shared a light-hearted anecdote about how his mother’s prediction turned out to be surprisingly accurate.“He said to me, ‘It’s a new month, you better play,’ and I said, ‘Well, that’s one of those things mom says.’ Then I won four games. I think mom knows something,” Praganandha said with a smile.The young Indian entered the final round trailing American Grandmaster Wesley Soo in the standings. Thus leading the tournament with 15.5 points, while Praganandha finished second with 15 points. To win the title, Prague needed to defeat Kaymer and Hope Sue dropped points against France’s Alireza Ferozja.Both results ultimately went his way.Reflecting on his resurgence after a rocky start to the tournament, Praganandha revealed that a change in approach helped him regain momentum.“It all came my way and I also think I started playing more under control, which is always great,” he said.“I decided that I would play a bit faster than my game. In every game, I had the advantage of time and was able to make good quality moves,” Praganandha added. The title-winning victory came against Kaymer at Queen’s Gambit Declined. Pragnanandaa slowly took over the position before launching a decisive kingside attack. Key moments included the aggressive 33.f5 and the powerful 38.Ne6+, which exposed Black’s king and paved the way for a winning rook end. The win earned the Indian three crucial points and kept his championship hopes alive.Despite holding a winning position late in the game, Pragnandha admitted he struggled to stay calm as the finish line approached.“A few moves before the end I knew I was going to win. But I also wanted to make sure. Once I played Knight E6, I couldn’t think about anything; I was just moving my hand,” he said.“Because it’s almost impossible to make a mistake when you’re in a winning position, but I was still very worried. Only after he resigned did I relax.” Meanwhile, Soo and Feroza played a classical draw, the result of which proved to be enough to hand Praganandha the championship without having to wait for an Armageddon tiebreak.
