Exclusive | The RCB fan who became a world champion: The Story of Chess Pradigi Pranav V | Chess news

New Delhi: “My ground is this (this is my land)”-All of these Bangalore-born cricketer KL Rahul could say, after an unbeaten 53-gent 93, once or twice, his chest tired of his chest which was replaced for a single-hand. Delhi capitals On Thursday night.
With the capitals at 30 for 3, many wrote them, thinking Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a match in a bag.
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But Rahul said that no-the despair and an emotional fan of the Chhinnaswamy was not watching his house in Chennai, who celebrated his one month anniversary as the World Junior Chess Champion last Tuesday.
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This is a pain RCB fans know very well – and Pranav Venkatesh is no exception.
“I really hope he will win the IPL this year,” 18 -year -old says Timesofindia.com Badly, still waiting for his team to lift his team title after 17 sessions.
And no, it is not about Virat Kohli for him.
“Of course, Virat is there,” he smiles. “But I like the whole team.”
Cricket and Pranav go back.
As his coach GM Shyam Sundar M shared earlier, it was cricket that brought the two together.
From the bottle cap to the sponge smiley balls, he has always tried to keep his cricket game as calm as possible while staying in a long hotel amidst the tournament.
The 2025 Fid World Junior Chess Championship was the first fide event held at Montenegro, and Pranava made it his own.
But the teenager is far away, as he is even more: World Chess Championship title.
The dream began at six or probably six six o’clock.
During a trip to a relative’s house, Pranav’s father, Venkatesh was invited for some friendly games.

Standing near his father, who was caught by Little Pranav’s eye, he was not tricks, but pieces.
“They looked like animals, as the king was a lion, an elephant was a crook. Not a piece of normal chess. That’s what he attracted inside,” he remembers.
When he returned home, he asked Venkatesh with the same bizarre pieces for a board.
But it was not.
“We could not find those accurate people, so we got a regular chess set. My father taught me the rules, and all this started,” Pranav says with laughter.
Chess and books run by hand. For Pranav, it is about balance – learning from both books and huge resources available online.
He says, “Now available online – from opening to endgeam theory. But books still help a lot. I try to balance both.”
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Growing up, the young shoulders of Pranava were patted by two legends: Magnus Carlsen and Vishwanathan Anand.
“Magnus has the ability to grind opponents from equal positions. I really praise,” Pranav says. “And with Vishi Sir, I love how to attack their games.”
Before his best at the World Junior Championship, Pranav had already left his mark, winning Chennai’s challenges, Sharjah Masters and Dubai Police Championships in 2024.
Nevertheless, the World Championship came with its pressure.
“I was nervous in the first round. I had a good position, but he gave the opportunity,” he believes. “But once I settled, I got my rhythm. After the sixth or seventh round, I was the pioneer. It made me a little nervous again because it could be my first world title when it was killed.”
Pranav, a class 12 student at Valamal Vidyalayala, Chennai, left his board exam for the championship this year and is expected to take him next year.
With a one-month break behind him, he is ready to return to chess-with a couple of tournament in Spain, followed by the Asian Individual Championship in Dubai from 6 May to 16 May.
In addition to uncontrolled with hotel-room cricket among sports, Pranav also gives time to walk regularly to stay physically fit.
From here, he is focusing on being strong – both boards and closed it – as he does not see chess as just a hobby: “It’s professional because I want to get more. I want to be a world champion.”