Prime Minister Narendra Modi met 18-year-old chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa at his residence on Thursday (August 31). The Grandmaster recently won a silver at the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 after a hard-fought defeat against world number 1 Magnus Carlsen. While Praggnanandhaa had termed it a great honour to be able to meet the Prime Minister, PM Modi also replied to his post on the micro-blogging site X (formerly Twitter) saying that India's youth can conquer any domain.
"It was a great honour to meet Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi at his residence! Thank you sir for all the words of encouragement to me and my parents🙏," Praggnanandhaa wrote in his social media post while sharing pictures from his meet. PM Modi also replied to his post saying: "Had very special visitors at 7, LKM today. Delighted to meet you, @rpragchess along with your family. You personify passion and perseverance. Your example shows how India's youth can conquer any domain. Proud of you!"
Earlier, Prggnanandhaa beat World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and World No 3 Fabiano Caruana on his way to the final. However, he lost in the tie-breaker of the Chess World Cup final. While the Norwegian chess grandmaster had managed to win the first game of the Rapid Chess tie-breaker with black pieces, he then managed to hold on to a draw in in the second game with white pieces.
The two games of Classical Chess had ended in draws. His second-place finish was, however, enough to help him secure a place in the FIDE Candidates tournament. The 2024 Candidates Tournament will be held in April next year in Toronto, Canada. The winner of the competition will become the challenger for the 2024 World Chess Championship contest.