Challengers Chess Tour: Pranav blanks Raunak, to challenge Praggnanandhaa

Currently busy with the ongoing Asian chess championship in the Capital, Pranav continued with the scintillating form he displayed in beating Andrey Esipenko 2.5-1.5 in the semifinals.

V. Pranav beats Raunak at Challengers Chess Tour. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Country’s 75 Grandmaster V. Pranav knocked out fancied Raunak Sadhwani 3-0 for the 2022 Challengers Chess Tour online title late on Sunday night.

Currently busy with the ongoing Asian chess championship in the Capital, Pranav continued with his scintillating form he displayed in beating Andrey Esipenko 2.5-1.5 in the semifinals and gave nothing away to Raunak in the final of this blitz event.

The triumph earned Pranav the right to challenge R. Praggnanandhaa in the $10,000 prize-fund clash in Tel Aviv, Israel, in December.

This astonishing balancing act, involving two events of different formats, is nothing new for the versatile 15-year-old.

Earlier this month, Pranav won the gold medal on Board No. 1 during the World Youth (under-16) Olympiad and concurrently won the Magnus Academy Challenge.

On Monday, in the Asian championship, Pranav (4 points) drew with Aditya Mittal and this result snapped the youngster’s three-game winning run.