Elated that Praggnanandhaa has sealed a Candidates berth: Mother Nagalakshmi

 

R Nagalakshmi, mother of teen chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa, on Friday expressed her joy as her son secured a place in the Candidates Tournament. Nagalakshmi mentioned despite the remarkable achievement of her 18-year-old son, he still has a 'long was to go'. The Candidates Tournament holds significant importance as it determines the contender who will challenge the reigning world champion. In the FIDE World Cup final held in Baku on Thursday, Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa's impressive run in the tournament came to a disheartening end with the defeat against World no.1 Magnus Carlsen. After their classical games ended in a draw, Carlsen managed to secure victory in the tie-breaker with a score of 1.5-0.5, ending Praggnanandhaa's sensational run in the tournament. Praggnanandhaa became only the second player from the country after Viswanathan Anand -- and the youngest -- to play in the FIDE World Cup final. Nagalakshmi, who has played a huge role in her son's success by ensuring a conducive environment for him to train and also accompanied him to almost all the national and international events, said, "We are extremely happy that he came this far in the tournament. And more than that, we are elated to see him seal his berth for Candidates." She also said that Praggnanandhaa would be leaving for Germany from Baku and and will return to India on August 30. Nagalakshmi's images recently went viral on social media which coincided with the success of her son in Baku, and the mother said that she was so engrossed watching her son play that she didn't notice she was also becoming the focus of attention. "During the quarterfinals of the World Cup (against compatriot Arjun Erigaisi), I was so engrossed in thinking what Praggnanandhaa was up to...that was the only thing which was going on in my mind. Later on, I found those photos had gone viral. I didn't even know they clicked those pictures," said Nagalakshmi. Praggnanandhaa registered a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Erigaisi to set up a semifinal showdown with Italian-American Grandmaster, Fabiano Caruana, ranked third in the world. "It was proud to see him win that (tough) quarterfinal," said Nagalakshmi.