As Nirmala Sitharaman presented her sixth Union Budget in the Parliament on Thursday (February 1) chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa's name came up in special praise from the Union Finance Minister.
The teenaged Indian superstar has been making waves in the Black and White Square and recently defeated world champion Ding Liren of China in the fourth round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Amsterdam, a win which also helped him surpass the legendary Viswanathan Anand as the top-rated Indian player.
The 18-year-old wonderkid has long been touted as the possible successor to the five-time world champion Anand and his win in Amsterdam has increased his stocks for sure.
A stunning performance in the FIDE World Cup in Baku last year, where he won silver, catapulted him to the Candidates tournament to determine the challenger to current world champion Liren.
The trailblazer from Chennai has been giving a tough fight to Norwegian legendary player Magnus Carlsen as evident in the Baku final where he gave the 32-year-old a run for his money.
Praggnanandhaa's meteoric rise in the chess circuit has forced many kids to take up the sport seriously and with chess becoming a more popular sport, there has seen an increase in the number of Grandmasters the country has produced, a point which Sitharaman highlighted in her Budget speech.
"Chess prodigy and our No. 1 ranked player Praggnanandhaa put up a stiff fight against world champion Magnus Carlsen in 2023. Today, India has over 80 chess Grandmasters compared to little over 20 in 2010," Sitharaman said amidst thumping of desks from the treasury benches.
The Finance Minister also lauded the efforts of India's Asian Games contingent, who brought home their richest medals tally ever from the Hangzhou Asiad.
"The country received its highest-ever medal tally in the Asian Games and the Para Asian Games in 2023," she said.
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