V Pranav, by normal yardsticks, was struggling in the Chennai GM tournament last month. He had qualified for the Masters section by winning the Challenger section the preceding year. However, with no wins, three defeats and ninth finish among 10 participants, any question raised about his legitimacy to be a part of the elite field would have been understandable.
But within a fortnight, the 18-year-old boy from Tamil Nadu has proved that he belongs at the higher level. Grandmaster Pranav (Elo 2597) won the Superstars section of the Fujairah Global festival in UAE on Monday. The India No. 17 is among the top-200 players in the world besides being reigning world junior champion.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Seeded 23rd in an elite field of 44 players (average rating 2606, average age 26) he scored seven points from nine rounds with five wins and no defeat.
If something can be called as deserving champion, this may make a classic case as a whopping nine rounds were played in a small field enough to ensure that top performers won’t avoid pairing against other top performers.
Pranav played eight games against players who finished the event in the top-15.
His rating performance of 2843 is among the finest efforts by an Indian in a tournament in Swiss League format. When Vidit Gujrathi had won the FIDE Grand Swiss in 2023, his rating performance was 2876.
Pranav started the tournament with a revenge win over top seed Nihal Sarin.
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