TN youngster wins Abu Dhabi chess meet

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu youngster M Pranesh reigned supreme in the juniors' category of the Abu Dhabi international chess festival, which concluded on Friday. The 12-year-old from Sivaganga, who registered 7 victories and two draws, won the event with 8 points from 9 rounds. Heading into the final round, Pranesh only needed a draw to seal the crown. He managed to do that against Kushagra Mohan.Kushagra was second while LR Srihari finished third in the tournament.
"He is very young and has immense talent and potential. Coming from a humble financial background, he attends all the training camps in our academy. With proper financial support, Pranesh has the potential to become a Grandmaster within a year," RB Ramesh, Pranesh's coach, told TOI. Pranesh's father works as an accountant while his mother is a school teacher.
The youngster's biggest test was during the penultimate round when he was pitted against the higher-rated International Master Leon Mendonca. Pranesh came out with flying colours as he defeated Leon. Ramesh believes Pranesh's biggest asset is that he doesn't get overawed by his opponent's rating. "He enjoys playing with stronger players and doesn't get overwhelmed easily. He likes the challenge," Ramesh said.
Pranesh is currently working on his opening in order to get better. "Just before the Abu Dhabi tournament, I had upgraded his 2010 laptop with a new SSD hard drive and more memory to speed it up a little to help in his opening preparation," said Ramesh.