Garry Kasparov hails R Praggnanandhaa's mother for her 'special kind of support'

Former chess champion and Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov commended 18-year-old R Praggnanandhaa and his mother mother for her unwavering support at the FIDE Chess World Cup. The Indian grandmaster was a calm presence as he achieved victory over World No 3 Fabiano Caruana and made his way into the final of the tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. Notably, his mother was present at the event to witness her son make history and the doting image of a proud mother has gone viral. “Congrats to @rpragchess —and to his mother. As someone whose proud mama accompanied me to every event, it’s a special kind of support! The Chennai Indian defeated two New York cowboys! He has been very tenacious in difficult positions,” Kasparov wrote in his tweet.

Congrats to @rpragchess—and to his mother. As someone whose proud mama accompanied me to every event, it's a special kind of support! The Chennai Indian defeated two New York cowboys! He has been very tenacious in difficult positions. https://t.co/y8oJ6Z446M

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) August 21, 2023

One of the most endearing images of the tournament has been Praggnanandhaa’s mother watching him during an interview after his quarterfinal match, with tears in her eyes. The photographer responsible for capturing this moment took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a wholesome conversation with the young prodigy’s reaction to the incident. Recounting the moment, the account said, “He said ‘Your photo on Twitter was huge!’ I said, ‘It is because you ARE huge!’”

He said "Your photo on Twitter was huge!"
I said, "It is because you ARE huge!" @rpragchess and his lovely mum are IN THE #FIDEWorldCup2023 FINAL ♥️ pic.twitter.com/2bJP21yBGN

— PhotoChess (@photochess) August 21, 2023

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The Indian chess sensation secured a 3.5-2.5 victory over his American counterpart in a tie-breaker, and will now take on World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in the championship match. By finishing inside the top-3, 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa has also earned his place in next year’s Candidates event. The final matches of the FIDE World Cup will start on Tuesday. Speaking about his ward, Praggnanandhaa’s coach, RB Ramesh, hailed his exceptional performance in the global tournament and said that all his strategic openings have been meticulously discussed. “I am extremely proud that he has been doing phenomenally well in this World Cup and he qualified for the World Cup final. And what I hear is he is the youngest to do so. And also he is the only Indian to qualify for the final,” coach Ramesh told ANI.