‘I’m amazed’: Levon Aronian struggles with weakness, Pragnananda steady on India’s historic GCT title win | Exclusively | Chess News
New Delhi: A year ago, American grandmaster Levon Aronian defeated Rambabu Pragnanananda in a third-place match at the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) finals in Sao Paulo, Brazil. By playing fast-paced chess, he gradually came to understand one thing. The Armenian great realized that quick attack and speed are the weak point of the Indian youngster.Last Thursday in St. Louis, the same soft spot helped history of Pragnananda’s text.He beat Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the GCT Finals, becoming the first Indian player and only the seventh in the event’s 11-year history to lift the title, pocketing $200,000 in the process.He got there by winning two lightning games in the final before drawing four lightning games at 4-4, an area that Aronian once pointed to as his weakness.“After the GCT finals last year, where I beat him, I thought blitz and speed were his weaknesses, and that should be exploited. And to be honest, I am surprised. I think he has made good progress in these aspects,” Aronian, who remains one of the most respected voices in the chess world, told TimesofIndia.com ahead of the new World Chess League (GCL) season in Bengaluru, where he will represent the Ganges Grand Prix. September this year.
GM Levon Aronian will return to the GCL after playing in and winning the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2023.
It’s rare for an elite player to publicly credit another player for closing a gap that was exploited, not so long ago, to beat him. “You have to congratulate and praise someone who works hard to fix his weaknesses,” the 43-year-old Grandmaster said. “So I’m happy for him because he’s a fighter and a very likable person.”Aronian isn’t the only voice from the sport’s old guard taking notice.previously, Viswanathan Anandwho returns to the board with the Alaskan Knights in this year’s GCL, went further in a separate conversation with this website, describing Praggnanandhaa as the best player at the moment.“In Norwegian chess, he didn’t do well. At one point, there were four games left, and he was at the bottom. Then he won four games in a row,” Anand explained.“He did something similar here, although he did much better in the Grand Chess Tour and also in Rapid. He won Rapid, and he did well enough in Blitz to win the tournament. Then he was kind of in contention for first place here.”“He has that ability, and it’s becoming more and more clear that he can win late games and change everything. This is a very rare skill and a useful skill to have.”Read also: Amidst “very long meetings” and running the chess world, has Viswanathan Anand lost his “hunger” to win? | Exclusive“I think at the moment, I would say he’s the number one player in the world,” Anand said, noting the same ability to transform echoed by Aronian’s comments now from the losing end of one.“Well, Magnus (Carlsen) doesn’t compete in the same events, but still, you know, if you add the classics, and I know Prague, in the tournaments in August and so on, he did incredibly well. If you go back to Norway for chess and then see the development from there, I think it’s fantastic.”
