Indian chess prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa recently spoke about how his contemporaries Arjun Erigaisi and D. Gukesh — and the success they’ve achieved — have pushed and inspired him to excel. Indian chess has seen unprecedented growth recently, with the country producing the youngest ever World Champion in Gukesh, the 18th player to cross the 2800 Elo rating mark in Arjun, and Praggnanandhaa becoming only the second Indian after five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand to reach a World Cup final. The trio also played a crucial role in leading India to its first-ever Olympiad gold, the toughest and most prestigious team event in chess.
When asked on Raj Shamani’s Figuring Out podcast if other chess players make him insecure, Praggnanandhaa replied: “No, not right now. But I guess in the past (they did).”
“Just the players from my generation, whenever they were doing (well) it was putting some pressure on me, I mean I was putting pressure on myself, but I started seeing them as inspiration… now whenever they do well, I get this extra motivation. I want to push myself. It doesn’t come as a pressure but as an inspiration and I want to do well,” said Praggnanandhaa when asked which player had made him insecure in the past.
Asked when was the last time he felt insecure, Praggnanandhaa replied: “I don’t remember honestly.”
Praggnanandhaa interview with Raj Shamani
Praggnanandhaa (World No. 4), Arjun (World No. 5) and Gukesh (World No. 6) are currently ranked India No. 1, 2 and 3 in the live rating list.
When asked if there was a time when he looked at a player and thought that they were better than him, Praggnanandhaa replied: “Mostly (players) from my generation. Let’s say Gukesh or Arjun (Erigaisi) do well. Or Nodirbek (Abdusattarov). When they do well, I feel like I can do it as well. So I tried to put pressure on myself which is not a good thing. I mean getting inspired from them is a different thing. Nowadays, I am better at it because last year I didn’t have a great year while Gukesh won the world championship, Arjun crossed 2800. All these things just inspired me so much. I was seeing their games so closely, trying to understand. It inspired me and I think that’s one of the reasons I feel that extra energy I have when I play games nowadays. That inspiration that comes from them.”
“When you just want to give your best and not worry about the results, I don’t think there is anything to be worried about,” replied Praggnanandhaa to the question of whether he gets scared by any player.
