ISRO’s Chairman Somanath visits the home of Indian chess player Praggnanandha in Chennai

ISRO’s Chairman Sreedhara Somanath paid a visit to the Chennai home of Indian chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa on Monday. During the visit, Somanath presented a scaled model of the GSLV rocket to Praggnanandhaa as a gesture of encouragement and extended his best wishes for the chess player’s upcoming competitions. Praggnanandhaa showcased his accolades to Somanath and expressed his support for the success of ISRO’s scientists and the upcoming Mission Gaganyan.

In a statement to the press, Somanath expressed his pride in Praggnanandhaa’s current world ranking of 15 and his optimism about the chess player’s future achievement as the world’s top-ranked player. Drawing a parallel between Praggnanandhaa’s ground accomplishments and ISRO’s lunar mission, Somanath underlined the collaboration between the chess player and the space agency in promoting space endeavors in India. Following the visit, Praggnanandhaa expressed his pride at Somanath’s visit and revealed an invitation from the ISRO Chairman to visit Sriharikota, the space launch center.

In a recent tournament, Praggnanandhaa faced a challenging defeat against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, losing the International Chess Federation World Cup title in Baku, Azerbaijan on August 24. Despite a valiant effort, Carlsen’s profound experience ultimately proved decisive in the match.

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