Magnus Carlsen best opponent – Pragyananda

21 November 2023, 02:00 AM IST

Thiruvananthapuram:Indian Grandmaster Pragyananda says he sees Magnus Carlsen as his best opponent in world chess. The match with Carlson was a good experience. However, Carlson’s experience in rapids and tiebreakers helped him at the World Championships.

Pragyananda was speaking to the media after a 10-round blitz match with Malayalee Grandmaster Nihal Sarin at the Che International Chess Festival jointly organized by Kerala and Cuba. Pragyananda won the match 7.5-2.5.

Hoped to get gold in Asian Games. However, he managed to win only a silver medal. I am happy to have won a silver medal in my first Asian Games competition.

TARGET CANDIDATES

tournament

: The next target is the Candidates Tournament in 2024 in Canada. Efforts for that have started. Now able to perform better. A few more things need to be done. Sister Vaishali is also contesting among the candidates. Hope to win the Vaishali tournament. Will start playing in tournaments abroad from December.

Without stress

will play

: It is natural to feel a little pressure during the competition. But, under pressure, mistakes will happen. Therefore, he has gained the mental strength to survive the pressures during the competition. Sometimes you don’t get enough sleep while traveling between tournaments. After winning the championship in Bhubaneswar on Sunday evening, they returned to Thiruvananthapuram. After reaching here in the morning, I got ready for the competition. When I was in front of the chess board, I didn’t know fatigue and other pressures.

With Nihal

competition

: Nihal is better than me in blitz format. I tried to give my best performance without thinking about the result of the match. It was possible to take advantage of Nihal’s mistake in some rounds. What children should do is to enjoy playing chess without thinking about winning or losing. Children need better support in schools.

Best experience-Nihal Sarin

: Nihal Sarin said the match with Pragyananda was a great experience. Enjoyed playing. I got off to a good start in the first phase. However, this could not be sustained till the final game. The desire is to play with strong opponents. The environment for playing chess in Kerala is improving. Nihal Sarin said that such tournaments provide a great opportunity for children.