India has always been home to many life-changing discoveries. Be it the Zero, or Ayurveda, India has provided the world with many valuable products. One of them is the evergreen game of chess. Originally known as ‘Chaturanga’, this game originated during the Gupta period around the 6th century AD. At that time, chess was a battle-simulation game, that rendered the Indian military strategy. Today, 176 out of 195 countries have adopted chess, and it is played with a lot of enthusiasm.
Our very own country, India, has given birth to many chess grandmasters, including Vishwanathan Anand, D. Gukesh, and R. Praggnanandhaa. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is a chess prodigy, who was born on 10th August 2005. He became an international master at the age of 10, the youngest person ever to do so, and a grandmaster at the age of 12, the second-youngest Indian to have done so. On 22 February 2022, this prodigy became the youngest player to defeat the world champion, Magnus Carlson(2013-2022).
Recently, Praggnanandhaa has been in the headlines. In the Chess World Cup 2023, the 18-year-old became the youngest player to reach the finals, and the second Indian ever to have reached the FIFE World Cup finals, after Vishwanathan Anand. He played a nail-biting match in the finals against Magnus Carlson and won a silver medal.
From Praggnanandhaa’s inspirational story, we can learn that age should never be a barrier between us, and our goals. If we wish to do something, we can achieve it by giving it our utmost and waiting diligently. As it has been said, “Age doesn’t matter if you have the attitude and the drive to succeed”.
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