‘Chess may look cheap but it is expensive’: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa | chess news

Indian chess grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, who recently competed at the FIDE Candidates in Canada for the first time, stressed the need for corporate sponsors in the sport, where training may seem “easy and cheap” but is actually “very expensive”. . Praggnanandhaa, who signed a long-term sponsorship deal with Adani Group earlier this year, is currently in Poland to participate in rapid and blitz tournaments. Talking about his time in Canada, he said, “The experience was great. It’s a big tournament where the pressure is very high.”

In terms of result, I played better than my score. I should learn from what went wrong and focus on future tournaments.”

This preceded his first Grand Chess Tour, marking the beginning of a busy schedule for a grandmaster. “The Grand Chess Tour will start with rapid and blitz tournaments in Poland in May. Then there will be the Superbet Romania Classical tournament from June 24 to July 6. The St. Louis Rapid and Blitz will be followed in August by the Sinquefield Cup, which is a classical tournament.”

The excitement and eagerness to participate at the highest level is palpable. “It will be my first time, so I am very excited. Apart from that, I will also be playing Norway Chess in May and the Real Masters in Switzerland,” the 18-year-old player revealed.

Praggnananda said that his journey could be successful only if he had a strong support system behind him. That’s because training to be the best is no walk in the park. To his and his family’s relief, the Adani Group became a pillar of strength.

“The Adani Group has been amazing. Chess training may seem easy and cheap, but it is a very expensive game because of all the travel and material. So I am grateful for the support. The cost of the training camp is very high. Thanks to the Adani Group he Said, “We don’t need to worry too much about it and I can concentrate on playing chess.”

“Without the Adani Group, it would have been difficult to participate in top-level international tournaments as they could have been quite expensive. My parents were facing financial problems before I got my first sponsor. It was difficult because my sister also Playing and traveling is why corporate sponsors like the Adani Group are essential for the Games,” Praggnanandhaa said.

It is a difficult task for a teenager to keep up with the rigors of playing chess at the highest level. As he prepares for the three-month tour and tournaments, Praggnanandhaa gave an idea about the physical and mental regimen that helps him perform. “Preparing for big tournaments involves a lot of things from the technical aspect onwards. You should be ready with initial ideas and your mind should be ready to calculate and play well,” he said.

Praggnanandha also revealed how he has taken up other sports to keep his mind and body fresh. “To prepare for the candidates, I was doing physical sports. I was also doing exercises during the camp. Apart from the actual chess training, we are allotted a certain amount of time for physical training. I like playing badminton. Recent Recently, I have started playing beach volleyball. I really enjoy it,” he said.

“You have to be prepared for long tournaments because playing 14 games is not easy,” he said. Maintaining focus throughout is something we are working on. Plus, 14 games is very tiring. The physical aspect comes when you are playing a game for 5-6 hours. If you do this throughout the tournament, it will obviously be very tiring to concentrate; “It takes a lot of energy.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)