Sudha Murty on Praggnanandhaa playing Chess World Cup final: ‘don’t give tension to the kid’

Sudha Murty is an author and philanthropist

While millions are praying for Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa’s success in the FIDE World Cup Chess final, author and philanthropist Sudha Murty does not want to put undue pressure on the 18-year-old chess prodigy.

Praggnanandhaa held his own against World No.1 Magnus Carlsen to secure a draw in the first two classical games of the FIDE World Cup Chess final. His powerful performance in the tournament comes at a time when India is already celebrating another success story – becoming the first country ever to execute a soft-landing on the far side of the moon.

A chess prodigy, Praggnanandhaa became a grandmaster at the age of 12, the second-youngest at the time to do so. At the age of 16, he also became the youngest player to defeat then-world champion Magnus Carlsen.

He is currently in Azerbaijan where he will face Carlsen again for two tie-breakers that will be held in the rapid format. But for all his success, Praggnanandhaa is still a high school who turned 18 only a fortnight ago – and Sudha Murty wants him to understand that success and failure are part of the game.

“[I] don't want to tense him saying you have to win -- you should not do that. Allow him to cool his mind, concentrate. It's a sport. Whatever you get, you take it,” Murty told Moneycontrol on August 23.

“It's God's wish [how he'll do tomorrow]. You should never make sports a tension ridden game,” she continued. “Always just allow them to cool and let them play. Whosoever is good will get it. player who's over at that moment. Being good. You will get it, but you should not give much tension to the kid.”

For his part, Praggnanandhaa is ready to take on Carlsen in the tie-breaks today. Speaking after the second draw of the final, he said: “Tomorrow, I just want to come with a fresh mind. I will try to rest today; it is very important because I've been playing a lot of tiebreaks here. I know it can take a lot of games or short ones as well, so I have to be ready for everything.”