'What is this India?' Bengaluru chess crowds leave foreigners wondering at GCL

BENGALURU: Bengaluru's Lalit Ashok hotel, where season 4 of the Global Chess League (GCL) is unfolding, has not been short on marquee pairings this week, but the one that turned heads on Monday belonged to a 20-year-old who wasn't even supposed to be here. Chennai-born Grandmaster Pranesh M walked into this year's tournament as a late replacement for Vladimir Fedoseev, slotted onto Mumba Masters' board two, and has spent the tournament making that footnote look increasingly irrelevant, first by beating Anish Giri on the opening day, then, more strikingly, by dismantling Levon Aronian's position from the white side of a Sicilian, punishing an over-optimistic kingside pawn push with the kind of clean, calculated finish that has become his signature."I think in the opening I kind of outplayed him (Levon)," Pranesh told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive conversation on the sidelines of the GCL.