Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram won the first major championship of his career in the Prague Masters
Prague Masters: Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram has won the first major title of his career in the form of Prague Masters. Aravindh became the champion with six points. World number 8 R Praggnanandhaa finished joint second with five points.
With the continued chess dominance of India, Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram won the first big title of his life. Aravindh beat most of the veteran players in the top-level Prague Masters chess tournament to take the top spot. 25-year-old Arvind of the state of Tamil Nadu won the title with a score of six points as he drew with Turkey's Gurel Ediz in the ninth and final round. World number 8 R Praggnanandhaa came second along with five points. He lost to Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri in the final round. China's top seeds Wei Yi and Giri also finished along with Praggnanandhaa with five points.
Aravindh is a native of Thirunagar, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. His childhood was very difficult, as his father died when he was three years old. After this, his mother raised him by working in an insurance company. The credit for making Aravindh a chess player goes to his maternal grandfather, although he liked cricket. He often insisted on playing with children, but his maternal grandfather wanted him to stay at home. He started teaching chess at the age of just seven.
He achieved his first major success when he was just 12 years old. During that time he won the Under 19 Chess Championship. In 2012, he stood second in the Under-14 World Chess Championship.
