12-year-old Indian 2nd youngest Grandmaster in chess history
Twelve years and ten months old, R Praggnanandhaa made history by becoming the youngest Indian Grandmaster and the second youngest overall by earning his third GM norm during the Gredine Open in Italy. After being paired with Dutch GM Roeland Pruijssers for the final round, Praggnanandhaa was assured of a third norm irrespective of the result of the match.
He is placed joint-top on the table at the end of 8 rounds, with 6.5 points. To become a GM you need to earn three norms and a 2500 rating. He had won his first GM norm at the World Junior Championships in Tarvisio in November 2017. He achieved his second norm by winning the Herkalion Fischer Memorial GM Norm tournament in Greece in April this year.
He missed out on becoming the youngest ever by three months with Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine holding the record of being the youngest Grandmaster in the world at 12 years, 7 months - a feat achieved in 2002. Incidentally, the fourth spot in youngest Grandmasters is also held by an Indian - Parimarjan Negi at 13 years, 4 months and 22 days.
Legendary Viswanathan Anand lauded Praggnanandhaa's feat and picked him out as a bright hope for the future. "What impresses me about Praggnanandhaa is that he's not just a strong player but mixes imaginative middle game play with patient endgame skills and is uncompromising in not settling for easy, quick draws," Anand was quoted as saying by ESPN India. "He's also shown a level of sophistication in handling tournament games. I think he will go far."
Magnus Carlsen became a GM when he was 13 years and 4 months old, while Anand, India's first ever GM, was 18 years old when he earned his third norm.
Youngest Grandmasters in history:
Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine) 12 years, 7 months
R Praggnandhaa (India) 12 years, 10 months
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) 13 years, 1 month
Parimarjan Negi (India) 13 years, 4 months
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 13 years, 4 months
courtesy : ndtv.com
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Karnataka Guv to halve convoy size following PM Modi's austerity call
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Thursday reduced the size of his official convoy to the minimum required strength following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's austerity call.
In a post on 'X', the Lok Bhavan said Gehlot had taken the step in response to the Prime Minister's appeal for fuel conservation and reduction in foreign exchange expenditure amid the West Asia crisis.
"Hon'ble Governor of Karnataka Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot has reduced his convoy to the minimum required strength, following Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji's appeal," the post said.
The move comes days after Modi, while addressing a rally organised by the BJP in Hyderabad, called for several measures aimed at conserving foreign exchange and reducing dependence on imports amid tensions in West Asia.
The Prime Minister had urged citizens to reduce petrol and diesel consumption, use metro rail services in cities, adopt carpooling, increase the use of electric vehicles and utilise railway services for parcel transportation. He had also suggested working from home wherever possible to conserve fuel and foreign exchange.
Modi further appealed to people to postpone the purchase of gold and foreign travel for one year, reduce edible oil consumption, lower dependence on chemical fertilisers and promote natural farming and swadeshi products to strengthen self-reliance and conserve foreign exchange.
