“You are truly an inspiration for all of us,” IndiGo crew say in their sweet note to India’s chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa

The young chess Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa came back to India after his amazing performance in the FIDE World Cup 2023 in Azerbaijan earlier this week. During his flight from Doha to Chennai, Praggnanandhaa got a very sweet note from the cabin crew of IndiGo flight.

The airline shared the note on X (formerly Twitter) along with a picture of Indian chess prodigy and his mother Nagalakshmi. The mother-son duo were posing with an attendant in the photo. The post was captioned, “Taking chess to new heights! We were honored to have Indian chess grandmaster Master R Praggnanandhaa on board. Congratulations to the young champion on becoming the first-ever World Cup finalist!”

“Dear Praggnanandhaa, it is truly an honour and our pleasure to fly you on board with us today. You are our Pride of the Nation. You have made our country so proud. We wish and pray that you achieve many more like this. You are truly an inspiration for all of us. Keep your game up and keep inspiring,” said the note which was signed by the captain and cabin crew of Indigo flight 6E:1322.

Praggnanandhaa received a grand welcome at the Chennai Airport upon his return on Wednesday. He then came to Delhi with his family to meet Prime Minister Modi on Thursday.

PM Modi shared a post on X about the same which said, “Had very special visitors at 7, LKM today. Delighted to meet you, @rpragchess along with your family. You personify passion and perseverance. Your example shows how India’s youth can conquer any domain. Proud of you”

Also, the chairman of Mahindra group, Anand Mahindra gifted an electric vehicle to the 18-year-old Grandmaster’s parents for making India proud with his performance in the tournament.

Praggnanandhaa faced the World No.1 chess player Magnus Carlsen in the final of FIDE World Cup. Carlsen won the match in the second round of tie-breaker after the final match ended in a draw.

Praggnanandhaa finished the tournament with a silver medal and became the youngest World Cup runner-up at the age of 18. But he will get the chance to take revenge next year. As he has also confirmed his place in the Candidates tournament of 2024 by reaching the final of the tournament held in Baku.

The next year’s tournament will have only eight participants and it will decide the challenger who will face the World Champion Ding Liren, in the ultimate battle of chess.