‘Mom knows something’: Praggnanandhaa reveals mother’s prophetic advice after Norwegian chess triumph

GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu defeated Germany’s Vincent (Image: X) Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa credited his mother with timely words of encouragement after scripting history by becoming the first Indian to win the prestigious Norwegian chess title. The 20-year-old completed a remarkable turnaround in the tournament by defeating Germany’s Vincent Keymer in the final round to secure the championship and put his name in the record books.After his historic triumph on Friday, Praggnanandhaa shared a light-hearted anecdote about how his mother’s prediction turned out to be surprisingly accurate.“She said to me, ‘It’s a new moon, you’re going to play well,’ and I said, ‘Okay, that’s one of those things mom says.’ Then I won four matches in a row. I think mom knows something,” Praggnanandhaa said with a smile.The young Indian entered the final round behind US Grandmaster Wesley So in the standings. He thus led the tournament with 15.5 points while Praggnanandhaa was second with 15 points. To win the title, Pragg needed to beat Keymer and hope So lost points against France’s Alirez Firouz.In the end, both results turned out according to his imagination.Reflecting on his revival after a difficult start to the tournament, Praggnanandhaa revealed that a change in approach helped him regain momentum.“Everything came my way and I also think I started to play more under control, which is always very good,” he said.“I decided to play a bit faster than I have been playing. I had a time advantage in every match and was able to perform decent quality moves,” added Praggnanandhaa. The title-clinching victory came in a dynamic Queen’s Gambit Declined against Keymer. Praggnanandhaa gradually took control of the position before launching a decisive royal attack. Key moments included the aggressive 33.f5 and the powerful 38.Ne6+, which exposed the black king and paved the way for a winning rook finish. The win gave India a crucial three points and kept their championship hopes alive.Despite holding a winning position at the end of the game, Praggnanandhaa admitted he struggled to stay calm as the finish line approached.“A few moves before the end I knew I was going to win. But I also wanted to make sure. When I played the e6 knight, I couldn’t think about anything; I was just moving my hand,” he said.“Because when you get into a winning position, it’s almost impossible to make a mistake, but I was still very worried. It was only after he retired that I relaxed,” he added. Meanwhile, So and Firouzja played out a classic draw, a result that proved to be enough to give Praggnanandhaa the championship without having to wait for an Armageddon tie-break.