Chennai Grand Masters: Self-taught Pranav shows mettle against Anish Giri; Vincent Keymer in lead
CHENNAI: V Pranav's last few months have moved at the pace of a blitz clock. November 2024 brought him the Chennai Grand Masters Challengers title, December saw him strike double gold at the Youth Worlds, and in March this year he was crowned world junior champion.
The Chennai boy's triumph in the Challengers last season promoted him to the Masters table this year.
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In a bold and a rare move for someone stepping into this league, the 18-year-old has been his own coach for a few months. His campaign here began on an even keel: a composed draw with Murali Karthikeyan in the opener, followed by a stumble against current sole leader Vincent Keymer.
Poll
Which recent achievement of V Pranav impresses you the most?
Chennai Grandmasters Challengers title.
Double gold at the Youth Worlds.
World junior champion title.
On Saturday, playing with black pieces against seasoned Dutch GM Anish Giri, the youngest player in the tournament faced his toughest test yet. The second-seeded Anish was in the driver's seat and enjoyed a dream position, but Pranav hung in and walked away with a draw.
Pranav said: 'For the past few months, I've been training by myself. I just wanted to try something different because I like doing this stuff myself...
It will really help my chess a lot. I think the more work I do on my own, the better I will get.
Exclusive | How India's World Junior Chess Champion Pranav Earned Wildcard to Grand Swiss 2025
'Let's say for this tournament, preparing for opponents would be one of the main things.' Chennai GM organiser N Srinath told TOI that it's unusual for a player to go without a coach at such a transitional stage of his career. 'It's definitely not common, but maybe he is in between changing two coaches,' Srinath said.
Keymer made short work of Karthikeyan Murali to stay perched at the top with a perfect three points.
Breathing down his neck is Arjun Erigaisi on 2.5, after he outplayed Ray Robson. And in the all-Indian duel, Vidit Gujrathi handed Nihal Sarin a second difficult loss after an intense fight.
Results (Round 3):
Masters:
Vincent Keymer bt Karthikeyan Murali; Arjun Erigaisi bt Ray Robson; Awonder Liang bt Jorden van Foreest; V Pranav drew with Anish Giri; Vidit Gujrathi bt Nihal Sarin.
Challengers:
Abhimanyu Puranik bt GB Harshavardhan; M Pranesh bt P Iniyan; Adhiban Baskaran drew with D Harika; Leon Luke Mendonca bt R Vaishali; Aryan Chopra drew with Diptayan Ghosh.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
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