Kharge, Rahul hail chess prodigy Pragg for performance at FIDE World Cup

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hailed Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa after he finished as the runner-up in the FIDE World Cup 2023.

In a post on X, Kharge said, "Many congratulations to the young and super talented grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa for finishing as the runner-up in the FIDE World Cup 2023."

"Every Indian is extremely proud of your incredible feat as you have created history by becoming the youngest ever player to qualify for World Cup finals," the Congress president said.

Praggnanandhaa's accomplishment is an inspiration to budding Chess players, he said, adding, "May you grow from strength to strength and have a brighter and even more successful future."

Gandhi, in a post on Facebook, said R Praggnanandhaa has captured the hearts of all Indians. "As the youngest Chess World Cup finalist ever, his game and composure against formidable opponents like Magnus Carlsen is commendable," he said.

"Praggnanandhaa has paved an inspirational path for countless young Indians to follow. We are all immensely proud of you," Gandhi said.

Indian chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa could not pull off a repeat of his giant-killing acts of the last few days as fancied Magnus Carlsen beat him 1.5-0.5 in the tie-break to win the FIDE World Cup in Baku on Thursday.

Praggnanandhaa's dream run in the tournament ended at the hands of the world number one after the classical games ended in a stalemate and required a tie-breaker to identify the winner. He enjoyed an incredible run in the tournament, having beaten world number two Hikaru Nakamura and world number three Fabiano Caruana to set up a final date with Carlsen.

The results in the ongoing tournament also helped Praggnanandhaa qualify for the Candidates 2024 tournament, which will be held in Canada to determine the challenger to world champion Ding Liren of China.

Praggnanandhaa also became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.