CM Vijay handed Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa a cheque for ₹50 lakh for becoming the first Indian to win Norway Chess, and played a game of chess with him at the Secretariat. He also congratulated Chennai’s Savitha Shri Baskar on her Asian Women’s Championship gold.
CM Vijay handed Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa a cheque for ₹50 lakh for becoming the first Indian to win Norway Chess, and played a game of chess with him at the Secretariat. He also congratulated Chennai’s Savitha Shri Baskar on her Asian Women’s Championship gold.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Monday, June 8, 2026, presented Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa with a cheque for ₹50 lakh at the Secretariat, and then sat down to play a game of chess with him.
Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to win Norway Chess, one of the strongest tournaments in the world, in Oslo. The Chief Minister had congratulated him on June 6, praising his brilliant play against the world’s best.
On June 6 the Chief Minister also congratulated Chennai’s Savitha Shri Baskar, who won gold at the 21st Asian Women’s Individual Chess Championship in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and qualified for the 2027 FIDE Women’s World Cup.
From Viswanathan Anand to Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali, Chennai has produced many of India’s finest players. A game with the Chief Minister at the Secretariat was a warm reminder of how proud the State is of its chess champions.
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