Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has been making the country proud since he was 10 years old but his achievements reached a new high on Monday when he reached final of the FIDE Chess World Cup in Baku.
Praggnanandhaa defeated Fabiano Caruana to set up a historic summit clash against world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, who has already lost to the Indian teenager three times in a row this year albeit in online chess.
Praggnanandhaa is the first Indian in 21 years to reach the Chess World Cup final and the youngest to do so at 18.
Known as a child prodigy ever since he broke into the international chess arena at the age of 10, Praggnanandhaa became a GM at 12, the second-youngest at the time to do so.
But none of his career achievements would have possible without the sacrifices and contribution of his parents, especially Praggnanandhaa's mother R Nagalakshmi.
Even his father Rameshbabu highlighted how his wife deserves all the credit for Praggnanandhaa's success in chess.
"I must credit my wife, who accompanies them to tournaments and is very supportive. She takes great care (of the two)," Rameshbabu, the proud father told PTI.
The picture that spoke a thousand words
Just like three and half decades back, the photograph of a young Grandmaster named Viswanthan Anand, playing chess while seated on a swing with his mother Sushila, left a lasting impression, the satisfaction that was writ large on Nagalakshmi's face after Praggnanandhaa win over Arjun Ergaisi won't be forgotten in a hurry either.
The picture of Nagalakshmi looking at her son with pride in her eyes as he gave an interview after reaching the semifinals of the tournament went viral on social media. She was later seen getting teary eyed while sitting alone in a room.
