Pranav determined to play in the Candidates and also breach 2700 mark

Pranav with the big prize after being crowned the World junior chess champion in  Petrovac (Montenegro) on March 7.
| Photo Credit: X@GM_Pranav_V

V. Pranav, the newly-crowned World junior chess champion, said on Monday that he had a “different experience” playing the u-20 championship at Petrovac (Montenegro).

“I was playing a classical tournament after a long time with the same age players because I had been playing a lot of Opens recently. So, I wasn’t sure how I would play against them. It was a very different experience for me.

“I avoided some mistakes I had made in the previous tournaments and that helped me a lot. I could see the difference.

“For instance, in the Qatar Masters Open, I wasn’t converting winning positions. Here, when I was in better positions, I took extra time to calculate well,” he told The Hindu over a phone call.

Fighting spirit

He added that despite knowing that a draw would be enough in the “mentally difficult” last game (11th round), he chose to play a complicated variation which he thought reflected his fighting spirit and style.

“I knew that a draw would be enough. Since it was a World title, I was a bit nervous. I could’ve played a simple game, but I chose a very complicated variation. The game had only 18 moves, but it was very complicated. I had to calculate and play accurately. If I wanted a draw and played accordingly, it wouldn’t have been my style. Maybe, it would’ve backfired.”

Speaking about the special appreciation he received from Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand, he said: “He said that he also had a similar scenario (of needing only a draw) in the last game when he won the World Juniors (in 1987)!”

The 18-year-old, who hopes to play the World Cup and the Candidates, said he aims to reach 2700 Elo (current Elo 2615) this year.

“Usually, people who win the World juniors get a World Cup spot. And this year’s World Cup is happening in India! Also, if you win the World juniors, you get invited to a lot of closed tournaments. Hopefully, I will be able to perform well in such tournaments. I will try to reach 2700 (Elo) by this year.

“Also, I want to qualify for the World cycle. Either through the World Cup or some other way, I somehow want to get to the Candidates,” he said.