The rationale behind placing Vibhuti, a sacred ash used in Hindu religious rituals, to his forehead was disclosed by Indian chess grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa. In an interview with podcaster Raj Shamani, the young chess prodigy was asked why he always wears the vibhuti on his forehead.
Praggnanandhaa provided a concise response and described how it is related to his life philosophy. “It's basically ash. We come from ash and return to it, so there's nothing to be arrogant about,” he said.
Praggnanandhaa is No. 4 in the world, one place above compatriots Gukesh Dommaraju, the current world champion, and Arjun Erigaisi, who are tied for fifth. Praggnanandhaa has an ambition to be the best.
“I can become world No. 1 and world champion,” he told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
He said the presence of his Indian compatriots near the top of the rankings helps. “We all push each other. Gukesh winning the world championship inspired me to push myself. We are growing together and it’s good for all of us," he said.
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At 12 years and 10 months, ‘Pragg’ became one of the youngest-ever grand masters, the title awarded to exceptional players by the world's chess federation.
“I think (in India) all of us have these common traits that I think comes from the Indian background. I think we are all, hard-working and we focus on improving more, rather than results ... but it is an individual sport, so people have their own strengths and weaknesses.”
In 2023, he was praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for beating the second and third-ranked players to make it to the World Cup final — India accounted for four of the last eight in the tournament — where he was beaten by Magnus Carlsen.
He has come a long way since he first picked up chess pieces at the age of five to play against his sister — Vaishali Rameshbabu is a double youth champion — at home, never imagining that he would one day be recognized in the streets of his hometown Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, which has been at the center of the chess explosion.
Before 2000, India had three grand masters but has produced over 80 since, with 30 coming from the southern state alone.
The most famous was the godfather of Indian chess. Viswanathan Anand became a grand master in 1988 as a teenager and went on to win five world championships. “We started playing chess when Anand was world champion,” said Praggnanandhaa. “He inspired all of us.”
Having a star at the top was helped by healthy grassroots competition in Chennai. “There were lots of local events happening every weekend and the players were really strong," he said. "I was always playing in higher categories, so when I was playing my age category, I was just already way stronger because of that experience.”
-with AP inputs
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