Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday congratulated chess grandmaster R Pragnanananda with a check from… $50 lakh from the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), days after the 20-year-old became the first Indian to win the prestigious Norwegian chess title. Star actor-turned-politician Vijay also played a game of chess with Pragnananda, and lost.
“I was asked to bring a chessboard, and I played a game with the Prime Minister. I never expected that he would actually play chess with me. We played for about 15 minutes, and I won the game. He was very supportive and encouraging,” Pragnananda told reporters, according to ANI.
Vijay, who became chief minister last month after making his debut as a politician, handed over the check and memento as a token of appreciation on behalf of SDAT. Public Works and Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna, SDAT member secretary G Meghanatha Reddy, and the player’s parents were among those present, the report said.
Vijay had earlier congratulated Pragnananda in an X post, describing the win as a proud moment for Tamil Nadu and the nation. He pointed to the player’s achievement of defeating Carlsen twice and recording four consecutive victories in one season.
Pragnananda won the 2026 Norwegian Chess Championship in Oslo on June 5, winning the 14th edition of the elite tournament. He finished the tournament with 18 points after his classic victory in the last round over German Vincent Kemmer, surpassing American Wesley Su, who ranked second with 17 points. Alireza Firouzja came in third place with 15.5 points.
The win capped one of the most dramatic comebacks in the tournament’s history. Praggnanandhaa was bottom of the six-man table after the sixth round before winning four successive classic matches to finish.
The final round included two victories over world number one Magnus Carlsen and a win over world champion and fellow Indian Dee Gokish.
Norwegian chess, which is contested according to a system in which classic drawn games are settled by an Armageddon tiebreaker, is among the strongest closed events in the sport. No Indian has ever won it before.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Pragnanandha in a post on X on June 6. “This is truly an amazing achievement that highlights his continued excellence. My best wishes to him in his future endeavours,” he wrote.
Vice President CB Radhakrishnan also congratulated the player, noting that he is the first Indian to achieve this feat.
Pragnananda, who was born in Chennai in August 2005, was named grandmaster in 2018. He was runner-up in the 2023 Chess World Cup, was part of the gold-medal-winning Indian team at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, and won the Tata Steel Chess Championship in 2025.
Three of the four Indian players in the world’s top 10 chess players are from Tamil Nadu, where both Gokesh and Pragnanananda are supported under the state’s Elite Athletes Programme.
