NEW DELHI: A visa issue has thrown uncertainty over the participation of Indian chess master Praneesh Munirithinam at the upcoming FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship in Hong Kong, prompting an urgent appeal to coach RB Ramesh.Taking to X on Tuesday, Ramesh revealed that 19-year-old Pranesh, who is currently competing in the French league, has yet to receive his Hong Kong visa despite an application being submitted in advance. “Our team ChessGurukul is scheduled to participate in the World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship organized by @FIDE_chess in Hong Kong from 16th to 22nd June. Our player Pranesh Manirithinam @Praneshchess has not got his visa yet. We have applied for the same and need help from concerned authorities to expedite it. Parneesh is currently playing in the French league and is expected to fly to Hong Kong directly from France. He needs urgent help to get Hong Kong visa!” wrote Ramesh.Scheduled from June 17 to 21, the tournament will have a strong chess Gurukal line-up led by Indian stars R Praganananda and Vaishali Ramesh Babu. The squad also includes Arvind Chithambaram, Karthikeyan Murali, Rakshatra Ravi, Vishruth B and Varsha Ramesh.Earlier, Ramesh expressed his excitement about fielding the ChessGurukul team on the international stage, writing, “One of my long term dreams is to field the @chessgurukul team in an international team event, for real! Betty Varsha will also play in the below 2000 board. Each of them is very close to my heart. Dream Team!”Parneesh’s possible absence will be a major blow. The young player recently played a key supporting role during Vaishali’s successful campaign in Cyprus, which saw him win the World Championship against China’s Joe Wenjin.Speaking after his victory, Vaishali highlighted the importance of Parneesh off the board.“The idea was that I could be tense because there are so many tense moments, and he would keep it light. That was the plan. And that’s exactly what happened,” she said.“He’s been a great support throughout the tournament, and we’ve played a lot of table tennis and paddle,” he added.With the tournament fast approaching, Chess Gurukal will be hoping that the visa issue is resolved soon so that Parneesh can join the team in Hong Kong.
