Grand Chess Tour: ‘Praggnanandhaa refused to settle for second place’

CHENNAI: It was the middle of the night in India when golden boy R Praggnanandhaa made history in St Louis, USA. As the 21-year-old became the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour (GCT), his long-time coach RB Ramesh and second, GM Vaibhav Suri, were wide awake back home.For the two men, sleep had been the last thing on their minds over the past month as they kept a close watch on Pragg’s campaign in St Louis. After his sensational triumph, Pragg was quick to acknowledge the hours they had put in behind the scenes.“A special appreciation to my trainers, Ramesh sir and Vaibhav. Especially Vaibhav, he compromised his sleep schedule for me. Back home, he was chatting with me despite the time difference. Huge credit to him. He was online throughout… it’s like 3 or 4 am back home,” Pragg said after scripting a remarkable comeback.Pragg overturned a six-point deficit on the final day to beat Fabiano Caruana 15-13. He had been in difficult positions several times during the tournament, but Suri felt it was Pragg’s relentless drive and refusal to give up that helped him rise above them — and, in turn, made the trainer’s job easier.“Six points against a player like Fabiano is not the ideal situation to be in. But the best thing about Pragg is that he has a very strong character. It’s very easy to feel, in a situation like that, when you have very slim chances, ‘Maybe it’s not my tournament’, ‘It’s not my day’, ‘I can let this go.’ He did not feel any of that at all.“I could sense it from the way we were communicating, discussing game strategy, match strategy and opening prep. It’s much easier for me and the others around him to put in that effort when you know the person you’re helping is extremely driven and really wants this. Obviously, at this stage, you don’t want to be satisfied with second place or simply being a GCT finalist,” Suri, beaming with pride, told TOI from New Delhi.That mindset has been central to Pragg’s evolution as a player. No longer the precocious kid who announced himself on the world stage, he has grown into a more complete player — one who can hold his own across all three formats. His results this year have been telling.After a disappointing outing at the Candidates in April, Pragg won Norway Chess, followed it up with the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz title, finished runner-up at the Sinquefield Cup and now has the GCT crown.Ramesh, who has guided Pragg since he was a wide-eyed child, feels his protege is now playing with greater confidence, particularly in shorter time controls, which have not always been his strongest suit.“Winning such big events always gives tremendous confidence,” Ramesh told TOI. “I think that is very important. Being consistent across all three formats is not easy. If they do well in one format, they struggle in another. But he has done well in all three. I hope this is just the beginning because he has to do this consistently across all four formats. That won’t be easy because adapting to different time controls is not easy.”Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.