Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa to get Rs 15 crore each as Tamil Nadu awards Rs 60 crore to Chess Olympiad medalists

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay honored state chess players (special arrangement) NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay felicitated the state’s chess players for their performance in the 2026 Chess Olympiad and awarded a total of Rs 60 crore to five recipients at a ceremony in Chennai on Thursday.World champion D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa received Rs 15 crore each, while Savitha Shri B, R Vaishali and Indian Open team captain Srinath Narayanan received Rs 10 crore each.

Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa among the top awardees

Gukesh won an individual silver medal and helped India secure silver in the Open team event. His parents, Rajinikanth and Padma, accepted the award on his behalf.Praggnanandhaa bagged the same amount after winning the individual bronze medal on board 1 and contributing to India’s team silver.Savitha Shri earned Rs 10 crore for her individual gold medal and role in the bronze medal-winning Indian women’s team. Vaishali, who was also part of the women’s team, received Rs 10 crore. Her father Rameshbabu and Praggnanandhaa accepted the award on her behalf.Srinath, who captained the India’s Open team, also received Rs 10 crore.India ended the Samarkand Olympics with a silver in the Open section and a bronze in the women’s event.

Tamil Nadu launches support scheme for sportspersons

The ceremony also honored medalists from the Nagoya Asian Games. According to news agency PTI, the chief minister distributed a total of Rs 6.9 crore in incentives to state medalists from the Asian Games and Chess Olympiads.Tamil Nadu has also launched its Dream Olympics 2036 programme, which will provide financial assistance to athletes competing in major events, including the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and their para-sport equivalents.The selected athletes will receive Rs 50 lakh annually, including a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000, to cover the cost of training, nutrition and international competitions.