Both R Praggnanandhaa and PV Nandidhaa emerged victorious at the Asian Continental Chess Championship in New Delhi on Tuesday. Both players needed draws to secure the titles and they didn’t falter. The win for Praggnanandhaa once again underlined his credentials in a year where he has beaten Magnus Carlsen thrice in shorter time formats.
In the final round, the 17-year-old held his own against compatriot B Adhiban, to finish the tournament on seven points out of nine, half a point over six players including Adhiban.SL Narayanan, Harsha Bharatathakoti, Karthik Venkataraman and Uzbekistan’s Shamsiddin Vokhidov were all in contention of claiming the title but ended their final-round matches in draws. This win gave Pragg a berth at the next FIDE World Cup as well.
”Very happy to win the Asian Continental Chess event. The field was good and I had to really work hard to reach the final round with just about a lead (half-point). It was a very good experience for me,” said Praggu. With just a half-a-point lead, the final round could have been tricky. A loss could have derailed all the hard work. But Praggu always has a positive approach and this came in handy.
”I was not nervous or worried going into the final round. I was aware that a draw would help me get the title. But I was positive in my approach and took things as they came. This came in handy,” he revealed.
He has reserves of energy and willpower to play long games. He is known to be a fighter and never quits easily. One saw this trait in the seventh round where in a marathon battle lasting 137 moves spread over six hours, Praggnanandhaa outsmarted his sparring partner and two-time former National champion, M Karthikeyan, to share the lead with three others at 5.5 points.
”I do not easily give up. I ensure that all the preparations and hard work translate into results. If I have a chance to continue in the game, I continue and wait for the opponent to make a mistake. I like to fight till the end,” said the youngster.
Next up for Praggu is the season-ending Meltwater Champions chess tour finals to be played from Nov 14-20. In the women’s event, 26-year-old Nandhidhaa needed at least a draw to claim the title. And she drew against Divya Deshmukh to finish on 7.5 points, one point ahead of second-placed Priyanka Nautakki.
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