Pranav Venkatesh: India's Rising Chess Star Clinches World Junior Title

India's Pranav Venkatesh captured the World Junior Chess Championship title after drawing with Slovenia's Matic Levrencic. His victory adds to India's illustrious history in junior chess, a category previously won by Viswanathan Anand and others. Venkatesh's achievement underscores his growing prominence in the chess world.

India's burgeoning chess scene received a major boost as Pranav Venkatesh secured the World Junior Chess Championship, prevailing in the Under-20 category by drawing against Slovenia's Matic Levrencic in the final round in Petrovac, Montenegro.

This victory, a continuation of Venkatesh's impressive performance streak, mirrored the triumph of fellow Indian Aravindh Chithambaram at the Prague Masters. Opting for a strategic draw in the concluding round, Venkatesh finished unbeaten with seven victories and four draws, totaling nine points from 11 possible.

Mentored by legendary Viswanathan Anand at the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy, Venkatesh adds his name to India's esteemed lineage of junior champions. Previous Indian victors include Anand himself, P Harikrishna, and Abhijeet Gupta. Venkatesh's win ends a nearly two-decade-long wait for the open title's return to India.