“Who do you want to be? I ask seven- and eight-year-olds who come to practice. ‘World Champion’ is the answer for everyone. But when they reach the age of 12 or 13, if the same question is repeated, they will say: district champion. This is where my dear disciple Pragnananda differs. Pragga will always have an answer. I don’t need to tell you which one it is” – Pragnananda’s coach Grandmaster RB. Ramesh told ‘Manorama’.
Ramesh is currently participating in a coaching camp for children in Romania. “When asked what they want, kids say: friends, video games, social media, chess champion.” They all have many desires. But Pragga has only one goal.
‘Everyone is interested in the benefits of fame. But not many people can afford the hard work and sacrifices’ Ramesh recalled the childhood of Pragga and his sister Vaishali: Pragga’s father has physical disabilities. The trip is on a three-wheeled scooter. It is a three and a half hour drive from their house to my house. Both come to practice by bus, sometimes by shared auto. There will be wraps as well. During the break, go to the nearby park and eat it. It will be too late to go back. Even during the auto journey, they watch a half to three quarter hour long chess video. This will be repeated the next day; without any fatigue. Ramesh says that the result of that hard work is being seen today.
Pragnananda’s life was devoted to chess. Enthusiasm to learn anything and dedication to it” – International master and coach V. Saravanan told ‘Manorama’. I remember two games where Pragga beat Magnus Carlsen in online blitz. If the same position is repeated three times, the game will be tied, so it would be prudent to move differently first and avoid a tie. This risk is taken when even a draw with Magnus would garner world attention. This ‘guts’ is a common trait of the new generation. Not only Pragga, but the general quality of the youth team including Gukesh, Arjun Erigazi and Nihal” – says Saravanan.
A few years ago. The early days of Magnus Carlsen, a boy wonder. World chess legend Garry Kasparov, who got to know the boy’s spark from a short training camp, predicted: ‘With an intuition that no computer can teach and an innate insight into where to place the pieces’, my beloved pupil would transform the ancient game by the time its glory days were over. The legendary man’s words became gold as he became the world chess champion for twenty years. Magnus became another legend. That prediction is 20 years out of date. Many brilliant talents are emerging from India including Pragnananda. Who among them will be the one who dominates the world chess board?
English Summary : Praggnananda’s life, memories of coaches RB Ramesh and V Saravanan
2023-08-25 04:09:17
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