Chennai lad Pranav becomes India's 75th Grandmaster

Chennai: Chess prodigy V Pranav on Sunday became India’s 75th Grandmaster by winning a tournament in Romania.

The Chennai-based Pranav won the Limpedea Open in Baia Mare, Romania to secure his third and final GM norm and attain the Grandmaster title. He finished the tournament with 7 points from nine rounds to wrap the GM norm requirements

“It is a great feeling. It will boost my confidence to improve further and reach the top level,” he told PTI from Baia Mare.

The 15-year-old had obtained his maiden GM norm at the Serbia Open in 2021 and the second in the Vezerkepzo GM round-robin tourney in Budapest, Hungary in June.

Pranav is the 27th Grandmaster from Tamil Nadu, a list that includes the legendary Viswanathan Anand and teen sensations D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa among others.

A student of Velammal school here, he has won the state championship thrice and won the bronze medal in the world rapid event in 2021.

“He likes to play fast and over the years he has matured and developed patience while maintaining his sharp skillset,” his coach K Visweswaran said.

“He has a lot of talent. He has just finished his 10th standard and I am hopeful he will go a long way at the world level.