R Praggnanandhaa lost to the world no.1 Magnus Carlsen in the FIDE finals but managed to get millions of new fans as his bout with the Carlsen led India to the Chess glory.
Magnus Carlsen has emerged as the new World Cup winner. It was a close fight as expected, but R Praggnanandhaa lost the tie-breaker of the finals. In a highly anticipated final of chess World Cup between R Praggnanandhaa and Magnus Carlsen, the teenager lost to the world no.1 as Magnus managed his first world cup title.
Indian chess fraternity has shown a huge support to the the chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa and also appreciated his efforts. R Praggnanandhaa is the youngest and second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to appear in the world cup finals. He lost to the Magnus Carlsen but won millions of hearts as the intent and game awareness shown by the only 18-years old earned him a huge fan following.
Support messages and appreciation posts came from the world of Bollywood to Sports to Politics as well. Sachin Tendulkar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hrithik Roshan and former Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore were among many others who took on their social media to congratulate the 18-years old.
PM Narendra Modi wished Praggnanandhaa for his achievements. "We are proud of Praggnanandhaa for his remarkable performance at the FIDE World Cup! He showcased his exceptional skills and gave a tough fight to the formidable Magnus Carlsen in the finals," PM Modi wrote on 'X', formerly Twitter.
"This is no small feat. Wishing him the very best for his upcoming tournaments”, he added.
President Droupadi Murmu also credited Praggnanandhaa for his phenomenal performance. She specially mentioned his mother, coaches and mentors and wished greater glory for him in the future. "Eighteen-year-old Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has won the heart of every Indian by reaching the final and becoming the runner-up in FIDE’s World Cup Final. He displayed highest level of excellence while facing one of the all-time greats of the game," she wrote on the social media platform.
"I convey my heartiest congratulations to him for this phenomenal performance. He has made the nation proud. His mother Mrs. Nagalaxmi, the Velammal School and all his mentors and coaches deserve special mention for contributing to his exceptional journey amid challenges and hardships. I wish Praggnanandhaa greater glory in the future."
FIDE Deputy President Viswanathan Anand aprreciated Praggnanandhaa's efforts and tweeted, "Praggnanandhaa can come back with a candidates spot and a truly wonderful result." He aslo congratulated Magnus on his win via social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
After first two games of the finals resulted in the draw, Thursday saw the tie-breaker in which first game was easily won by the Carlsen making the 2nd game a must win for the Praggnanandhaa to win, which he failed.