He received this year’s Sankara Prize also in Kalady on Thursday

Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa, the 16-year-old chess prodigy who defeated world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, who  was in Kalady on Thursday asked the students of Sree Sarada Vidyalaya to “enjoy what you do and give your 100% to it”. He was speaking after receiving this year’s Sankara Prize jointly instituted by Adi Sankara Trust, Adi Sankara Institute of Engineering and Sree Sarada Vidyalaya, Kalady  and comprised Rs.1 lakh in cash and a citation from Adi Sankara Trust Managing Trustee K Anand at a function held at Sree Sarada Vidyalaya, Kalady, on Thursday.

To a media query, Praggnanandhaa said he did not do any special preparation for the game with Carlsen as it was the fourth game was playing that day. “I didn’t have time for any preparation and I just played my game as it unfolded,” he said. He also said his future plan is focussed on improving his game. “Now I concentrate on chess and give it my preference over my studies. I dedicate around 7 to 8 hours a day for training. As my sister is also a good player, we discuss chess a lot at home and ways to improve it,” he said. He was accompanied by his mother Nagalakshmi and sister Vaishali who is preparing for her grandmaster title to receive the prize in Kalady. Speaking to the media, International Master  Vaishali  said it’s great to have a grandmaster at home. “But like any other sister and brother, we also fight each other often,” she added.

A special gift was also presented to Praggnanandhaa and his sister International Master Vaishali by Dr. Deepa Chandran, Sr. Principal, SreeSarada Vidyalaya  for their grand gesture of donating Rs 10,000 to the flood-ravaged Kerala in 2018. Adi Sankara Chief Operating Officer Prof C P Jayasankar said that the gift is a mark of Kerala’s gratitude to the young ones for coming out to help it during the difficult times.

Praggnanandhaa, who defeated Carlsen in 39 moves with black pieces, is the fifth-youngest player to secure the Grand Master title. Carlsen had faced Praggnanandhaa in the tournament after three consecutive wins.

Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali are children of bank employee Ramesh Babu and Nagalakshmi who hail from Padi in Tamil Nadu. International Master Vaishali is now close to securing the Grad Master title. R B Ramesh is the trainer of both chess prodigies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar were among the people who had congratulated Praggnanandhaa on his achievement.

Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, K S Chithra, actor-dancer Vineeth, and singer G Venugopal are the previous years’ recipients of the Sankara Prize.

businessday

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