Industrialist Anand Mahindra is known for his engaging content on social media. On Monday, the Mahindra Group chairman dedicated a tweet to Indian grandmaster Ramesh Babu Pragnananda, praising the teenager’s performance at the FTX Crypto Cup.
Anand Mahindra is very much a fan of the chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa from India. After Praggnanandhaa defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in the Champions Chess Tour, the Chairman of the Mahindra Group congratulated and hailed him with a Game of Thrones reference. 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa finished runner-up in the FTX Crypto Cup, the second major on the Champions Chess Tour after defeating Carlsen. The entire nation has been in awe of the chess champ and his recent feat is just another feather in his hat.
Mr Mahindra tweeted: “Look at that young, but fierce face. If chess is a game of thrones, there may soon be a new occupant of the throne… (and we all need to learn How to spell his name correctly!)”
Notably, this was 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa’s third consecutive win in his career against the Norwegians. Although Carlsen went on to clinch the FTX Crypto Cup Tamil Nadu gave him a tough time. In the final match of the FTX Crypto Cup, Praggnanandhaa was trailing but he produced a clutch moment against Magnus Carlsen and defeated him in three games in a row in the blitz playoffs to create history, according to news agency ANI report.
The clash was intense and Praggnanandhaa finished just one below Carlsen, who somehow managed to defend his title despite the threats posed by Praggnanandhaa. Praggnanandhaa started with a winning streak in the championship after defeating his opponent in the first game. But then the 17-year-old lost two matches in a row to Quang Liem Le, the Vietnamese contender and Jan-Krzystof Duda, his Polish counterpart. Duda seized the lead from Praggnanandhaa after winning the first game, the report said.