Fans Want R Praggnanandhaa to be Gifted Thar, Anand Mahindra Suggest XUV4OO EV

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa made history as he finished second in the FIDE World Cup in Baku last week. The Indian chess prodigy put up a valiant effort in the final and held world No. 1 and five-time world champion Carlsen to a draw in the two classical games before going down in the tie-break.

Many social media users urged Anand Gopal Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra group, to take notice of the young star and ‘gift’ Praggnanandhaa a new car.

Here is how Anand Mahindra responded: “Appreciate your sentiment, Krishlay, & many, like you, have been urging me to gift a Thar to Praggnanandhaa. But I have another idea,” he said.

“I would like to encourage parents to introduce their children to Chess & support them as they pursue this cerebral game (despite the surge in popularity of video games!). It’s an investment in a better future for our planet, just like EVs. And so, I think we should gift an XUV4OO EV to the parents of Praggnanandhaa, Shrimati Nagalakshmi & Shri Rameshbabu, who deserve our gratitude for nurturing their son’s passion & for giving him their untiring support,” he added.

As he shook hands with the Norwegian GM, Praggnanandhaa was surrounded by a group of children asking for his autograph.

“I feel very good to be in the finals, I didn’t win, but it’s normal in chess,” Praggnanandhaa told PTI from Baku hours after he finished runner-up.

“No, not yet, but I guess it will at some point,” he said with a smile when asked if he understood the magnitude of his feat.

“I think it’s good for the game and very happy to see so many people following it. And yeah, it’d be nice to see many kids coming to the game and I feel like that’s, that’s where it’s heading to, and I’m very happy with that,” Praggnanandhaa replied humbly when asked if he’s enjoying the spotlight.

(With inputs from Agencies)