Mumbai: India’s 19-year-old Grandmaster Pranesh M emerged as the champion in the prestigious Kanizsa Open 2026 in Nagykanizsa, Hungary, securing the Group A title with a superb performance.
In the ninth and final round of the tournament on Sunday, Pranesh defeated Vadim Petrovskiy of Germany with white pieces. Pranesh has a rating of 2673 and is ranked 44th in the latest FIDE Rankings of August 2026.
Pranesh, who hails from Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, finished with seven points from nine rounds, sharing the top spot with three other players. He claimed the title on a better tiebreak with Or Bronstein of Israel, Andrei Volokitin of Ukraine, and India’s Karthik Venkataraman, finishing second to fourth in that order.
Karthik Venkataraman could have won the title outright but was held to a draw in the final round by Volokitin as they both finished with seven points. Bronstein jumped into a share of the top spot by beating compatriot IM Benny Aizenberg in the ninth round.
The Indian Embassy in Hungary hailed Pranesh for winning the title.
“Meet the new Indian Chess Champion!! Pranesh M.
“Huge Congratulations! to Indian Grandmaster Pranesh M on his brilliant victory at the prestigious Kanizsa Open 2026 in Nagykanizsa, Hungary!” the Embassy wrote in a post on its official handle.
”After a thrilling 9th round, Pranesh secured the top spot in one of Central Europe’s most competitive open tournaments.
“We are incredibly proud to see Indian talent shining so brightly on the global stage. Hungary 🇭🇺 continues to be a happy hunting ground for Indian Chess. Wishing him continued success in his chess journey!” said the post.
Among other Indians in the Kanizsa Open 2026, Neelash Saha finished 10th with 6.5 points after finishing joint second among a big group of players. Nitish Belurkar (20th, 6 pts), Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy (21st, 6 pts) and Bhattacharyya Soham (23rd, 6 pts) were the other prominent Indian finishers in Group A, which had a field of 226 players.
(IANS)
