Prraneeth sets his targets high

Wants to become a GM next after getting his final IM norm

V. Prraneeth of Telangana became the latest International Master when he achieved the mandatory third IM norm in the final round of the First Saturday round-robin tournament in Budapest (Hungary) late on Tuesday.

In the process, he also earned his first Grandmaster norm.

The 15-year-old Prraneeth earned his first IM norm in Serbia in 2018 at the age of 11 and the second in January 2022 in the Vergani Cup.

Having crossed the 2400 Elo mark before the start of the tournament, Praneeth drew with fellow Indian IM V.S. Rathanvel in the last round to get his final norm.

With consistent performances in the last five months, Prraneeth also earned 179 Elo points.

“My next goal is to become a GM and then chase bigger targets like becoming a World champion,” said the confident young player who was World No. 1 in the under-11 category in 2018.

Coached by N.V.S. Rama Raju, who has trained the likes of GM D. Harika, Prraneeth is known for his very strong opening and middle games.