India's young chess prodigy?R Praggnanandhaa shone bright as he spectacularly triumphed to a gold the the World Youth Chess Championship in Mumbai.?
The 14-year-old won a Gold in the Under-18 Open category.?The Grand Master from Chennai etched out a cautious draw in the 11th and final round against Valentin Buckels (Germany) to top the charts with 9 points.
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He will have to thank his compatriot?IM Arjun Kalyan for engineering a crucial draw against top seeded Shant Sargsyan (Armenia).?
Praggnanandhaa would have been under pressure if Grand Master Shant had won; but Shant couldn't unravel a determined Arjun, allowing Praggnanandhaa to call truce and annex the title.
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The championship proved to be very fruitful for India with a total medal haul of seven, which included three silver, and three bronze, in?addition to the gold for Praggnanandhaa.?
The country's Under-14 Girls were the toast of the day, with Divya Deshmukh and Rakshitta Ravi bringing home two medals. Top seed WIM Divya, who seemed to be out of contention midway through the event, pulled off a well thought out victory in the last round to clinch the silver.
R?Praggnanandhaa is fast becoming India's best young Chess player, and he again showed why is regarded as the apparent heir to Vishwanathan Anand. Not just?R Praggnanandhaa, Indian contingent showed they are ready to take the world by storm.?