Bengaluru teen Pranav Anand becomes India's 76th Chess Grandmaster
Chennai(PTI): Bengaluru teenager Pranav Anand became India's 76th Grandmaster after he crossed the 2,500 Elo mark in the ongoing World Youth Chess Championship in Mamaia, Romania.
The 15-year-old, having already met the other requirements that are necessary for a GM title, achieved the honour late on Thursday.
To become a GM, a player has to secure three GM norms and cross the live rating of 2,500 Elo points. Anand had scored the third and final GM norm at the 55th Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland in July.
"He is passionate towards chess. Extremely interested and passionate towards the game. He can work for any number of hours," Anand's coach V Saravanan told PTI.
"He is especially good in calculation and end games...they are his two biggest strengths right now," Saravanan said about his ward's ninth round win in the under-16 section of the World Youth Chess Championship 2022.
"Also, the most important reason for Pranav's achievement is the dedication of his family, his mother, father...They have spent so much time on and supported him,"
"If the pandemic was not there, Pranav could have become a GM at least a year ago. He is one of the most talented kids I have ever come across," the International Master added.
Anand had secured his third and final GM norm in Biel by drawing his game against Spain number five GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (2619) in the penultimate round.
He had also beaten GM Maxime Lagarde of France (2631), GM Sethuraman S P(2623), drawn with GM Aryan Chopra (2610) and GM Shant Sargsyan of Armenia (2661) in the event.
His first two GM norms came in the Sitges Open (in January 2022) and Vezerkepso GM Round Robin (March 2022) tournaments.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
