TN CM Vijay Rewards R Praggnanandhaa With Rs 50 Lakh For Winning Norway Chess, Loses Friendly Game

Last Updated:June 08, 2026, 14:25 IST

Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay presented Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa with Rs 50 lakh for winning Norway Chess.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday honoured Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa with Rs 50 lakh, and tried his hand at a game with the 20-year-old city player at the Secretariat here.

The chief minister who felicitated Praggnanandhaa, who became the first Indian to win the prestigious Norway Chess title with a final round victory over Germany’s Vincent Keymer in Oslo, played a game of chess with the young Grandmaster at his Chamber.

As Vijay, completely absorbed in the game stood up beside his huge office table to make a strategic move to defend his king, Praggnanandhaa, the latter’s parents, state Public Works and Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna, and member secretary of Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu J Meghanatha Reddy, stood around watching.

“I didn’t expect it. I haven’t heard from anyone that he (Vijay) plays chess," Praggnanandhaa said. " He asked me to bring the board. We assembled the pieces and began playing impromptu. He played well. I asked him when he plays chess. He said he plays with his friends. I won, but I didn’t expect he would play that well."

Later, Vijay presented a cheque for Rs 50 lakh as cash incentive on behalf of SDAT to the young grandmaster for etching his name in history.

Earlier, Praggnanandhaa described his Norway Chess triumph as the biggest achievement of his career, emphasising that defeating some of the world’s strongest players including Magnus Carlsen made the title particularly memorable.

He became the first Indian to win Norway Chess since the tournament’s inception in 2013.

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Feroz Khan

Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience ...Read More

News sports chess TN CM Vijay Rewards R Praggnanandhaa With Rs 50 Lakh For Winning Norway Chess, Loses Friendly Game

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