09 June,2026 04:57 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Vishwanathan Anand and D Gukesh (File pic)
Indian chess icon Viswanathan Anand has praised R Praggnanandhaa's aggressive approach to the game and urged the struggling world champion D Gukesh to learn from the newly crowned Norway Chess champion.
Praggnanandhaa recently made history as the first Indian player to claim the prestigious Norway Chess title, while Gukesh endured a difficult tournament, finishing sixth.
"I am delighted that Praggnanandhaa has won Norway Chess in an impressive style. I am very happy at the spectacular turnaround (he made) in the last four rounds. He is playing the game with some amazingly impressive concepts and style," Anand told PTI.
Anand suggested that current world champion Gukesh, who is preparing to defend his world title against Javokhir Sindarov later this year, should draw motivation from Praggnanandhaa's recent breakthrough.
"At this moment, Praggnanandhaa is playing better than Gukesh, but anything can change. I think there will be form swings repeatedly. Gukesh seems to be stuck a bit. I think he can take inspiration from Pragg. He can see that if you persist with hard work, then at some point things will change," he added.
The five-time world champion said Praggnanandhaa is always 'ready for a fight' on the board, and the attitude helps him produce some interesting concepts while playing.
"Actually, it's the same Pragg in the last one and a half years. Sometimes he plays hard and comes out with interesting concepts, and he is always ready for a fight. The results might not always work out. In fact, after the first six rounds, you can't see much difference from the last 8 or 9 months (as in how Praggnanandhaa plays). But then there was this great turnaround, and that was really nice to see because he played very interesting chess," he said.
Anand expressed pride in the rapid growth of Indian chess, with several players establishing themselves among the world's best.
"India is definitely in the top three. We have increased our strength a lot. We have as many as 95 Grandmasters in the country. We have a world champion and we have many players at the top. Things are going up for India, and now women are joining this movement. Are we replacing Russia? We are certainly one of the top 3, but their dominance has been quite different," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
