Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 13 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin felicitated Pranav Venkatesh for winning the FIDE World Junior Championship 2025, which was held in Petrovac, Montenegro and presented him with a cheque for Rs 20 lakh as a 'high incentive.'
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Chief Secretary N Muruganandam, and the Secretary of the TN Sports Department were also present during the felicitation ceremony at the Chennai Secretariat.
Last week in Petrovac, India found another world champion when Pranav became the World Junior Chess Champion 2025, leaving behind 12 grandmasters to take the prestigious title.
He remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and bagged the title with an impressive score of 9/11. Slovenian IM Matic Lavrencic and Norwegian GM Amar Elham tied for second place as both chess players finished with a score of 8.5/11. However, Lavrencic claimed the silver due to a superior Buchholz score.
Following his triumph, India's first world junior chess champion, Viswanathan Anand, extended his wishes to the young chess sensation.
"Congratulations to the World Junior Champion Pranav Venkatesh. He has been in great form lately. Our @WacaChess mentee. He is very meticulous in his work and constantly analyses his own games, comes back with suggestions and takes feedback. You join a very prestigious line of World Junior Champions!" Viswanathan wrote on X.
Pranav also earned praise from the US Chess Hall of Famer, Susan Polgar, for his impressive title victory in a closely fought tournament.
"Another outstanding 2 weeks for Indian chess! - GM Aravindh Chithambaram won Prague Chess Masters and is now #14 in the world (Gukesh #3, Erigaisi #5, Praggnanandhaa #8, and Anand #15) - GM Pranav Venkatesh won the World Junior Championship! Two things we know for sure! India chess success keeps on coming, and @ChessbaseIndia is there to cover it!" she wrote on X.