Telangana’s V. Praneeth became the latest International Master when he achieved the mandatory third IM criterion in the final round of the first Saturday round-robin tournament in Budapest (Hungary) late Tuesday night.
In the process, he also earned his first Grandmaster Criterion.
15-year-old Praneeth earned his first IM benchmark in Serbia in 2018 at the age of 11 and second in January 2022 at the Vargani Cup.
After crossing the 2400 Elo mark before the start of the tournament, Praneeth along with fellow Indian IM VS Rathnavel achieved his final benchmark in the final round.
Praneeth also scored 179 Elo points with consistent performance in the last five months.
“My next goal is to become a GM and then chase big goals like becoming a world champion,” said the confident youngster, who was world No 1 in the under-11 category in 2018.
Coached by NVS Rama Raju, who has coached the likes of GM D. Harika, Praneeth is known for his very strong opening and middle games.
biggest asset
“His greatest asset is his patience. Can engage opponents in marathon battles and never give up easily. He once forced GM Gata Kamsky to draw after a long fight.
Praneeth has been competing in the European circuit for the past five months and will be in action again this week at the GM round-robin tournament in Budapest, where he is hoping to earn his second GM benchmark.
His proud father Srinivas Chari said, “We are grateful for the blessings of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, who has been a great source of inspiration and support for us.”
Hailing from a relatively obscure village of Alagadda in Telangana’s Nalgonda district, Praneeth, who admires world champion Magnus Carlsen, is determined to scale new heights. His mother Dhanalakshmi also fully supports him.