Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa credited his mother’s timely words of encouragement after scripting history by becoming the first Indian to win the prestigious Norway Chess title. The 20-year-old completed a remarkable turnaround in the tournament, defeating Germany’s Vincent Keymer in the final round to secure the championship and etch his name into the record books.Speaking after his historic triumph on Friday, Praggnanandhaa shared a light-hearted anecdote about how his mother’s prediction proved surprisingly accurate.“She told me, ‘It is a new month, you will play well,’ and I said, ‘OK, it is one of those things that mom says.’ Then I won four games straight. I think mom knows something,” Praggnanandhaa said with a smile.The young Indian entered the final round trailing American Grandmaster Wesley So in the standings. So led the tournament with 15.5 points, while Praggnanandhaa sat second on 15 points. To win the title, Pragg needed to defeat Keymer and hope So dropped points against France’s Alireza Firouzja.Both results ultimately went his way.Reflecting on his resurgence after a difficult start to the tournament, Praggnanandhaa revealed that a change in approach helped him regain momentum.“It all came my way and I also think I started to play more in control, which is always very good,” he said.“I decided that I would play a little faster than I was doing. In every game, I had a time advantage and was able to make decent quality moves,” Praggnanandhaa added. The title-clinching victory came in a dynamic Queen’s Gambit Declined against Keymer. Praggnanandhaa gradually seized control of the position before launching a decisive kingside attack. Key moments included the aggressive 33.f5 and the powerful 38.Ne6+, which exposed Black’s king and paved the way for a winning rook ending. The victory earned the Indian three crucial points and kept his championship hopes alive.Despite holding a winning position late in 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. I just could not think of anything once I played knight e6; I was just moving with my hand,” he said.“Because when you get a winning position it is nearly impossible to make a mistake, but I was still very concerned. It was only after he resigned that I relaxed, ” he added. Meanwhile, So and Firouzja played out a classical draw, a result that proved sufficient to hand Praggnanandhaa the championship without the need to wait for the Armageddon tie-break.
