Pranav Venkatesh, an 18-year-old Indian chess prodigy, scripted history on Friday, securing the World Junior Chess Championship title in Petrovac, Montenegro.
A year after D Gukesh and Divya Deshmukh became the top junior masters of the 64 squares, Bengaluru’s Pranav Venkatesh emerged as the new world junior chess champion.
Venkatesh drew against Slovenia’s Matic Levrencic in the final round (11th) to clinch the title, and he also maintained his unbeaten run through the tournament.
Venkatesh bagged seven wins and four draws to finish with nine points out of a possible 11, and it was confirmed ahead of the final round that a draw would confirm his title success.
Venkatesh is a known figure in the Indian chess community and has been heralded as one of the upcoming stars. He was selected by the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy, where he was mentored by Viswanathan Anand.
This achievement marks a significant milestone for Indian chess.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, who in 1987 became India’s first world junior champion, was all praise for Pranav. Congratulating him on X, Anand said, “Pranav has been in great form lately. He is very meticulous in his work and constantly analyses his own games, comes back with suggestions and takes feedback. You join a very prestigious line of World Junior Champions.”
“Congratulations to his parents and @WacaChess coach Shyamsundar for being a big part of this achievement”, he added.
Born in Bengaluru, Venkatesh began playing chess at the age of six and has since risen through the ranks, becoming India’s 75th Grandmaster at just 15 years old.
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His recent achievement follows a string of impressive performances, including winning the challengers section at the Chennai International Open and securing a double gold at the IDE World Youth Under-18 Open Rapid and Blitz Championships in Slovenia.
The tournament, which saw participation from 157 players across 63 countries, was held from February 26 to March 7.
