'Didn't even know' Praggnanandhaa's mother shares initial reaction to her viral images

R Praggnanandhaa's stellar Chess World Cup campaign triggered a massive interest in the player. The 18-year-old became the youngest ever to appear in a Chess World Cup final. Only Viswanathan Anand was the previous Indian to have played in a World Cup final. 

3 things you need to know

• R Praggnanandhaa lost to Magnus Carlsen in the Chess World Cup final
• he has also qualified for the Candidates event
• Praggnanandhaa is currently the 3rd highest-ranked Indian chess player

R Praggnanandhaa failed to beat Magnus Carlsen in the Chess World Cup final

Praggnanandhaa forced Magnus Carlsen into a tiebreaker but lost the first game and couldn't hold his momentum and Carlsen went ahead to seal his maiden Chess World Cup title.

Also Read: 'I think people will start to notice Indian chess': Praggnanandhaa after Chess World Cup heroics

One person who was with Praggnanandhaa during his entire Chess World Cup journey was his mother, Nagalakshmi. The youngster also stated how big a role his mother has played in his career, as she has stuck to him throughout his career.
An image had gone viral in which his mother was seen proudly watching his son play and didn't even notice that cameras were clicking his pictures.

Praggnanandhaa's mother finally revealed the actual story behind viral picture

She finally opened up about that viral picture. "During the quarterfinals of the World Cup (against compatriot Arjun Erigaisi), I was so engrossed in thinking what Praggnanandhaa was up to...that was the only thing which was going on in my mind. Later on, I found those photos had gone viral. I didn't even know they clicked those pictures."

She further added, "We are extremely happy that he came this far in the tournament. And more than that, we are elated to see him seal his berth for Candidates."

Also Read: Praggnanandhaa's run in World Cup will boost Indian chess, say players and officials

Maria Emelianova, who took that picture, revealed on RevSportz, "When you do exclusively one sport for so long, you get player’s personalities, reactions and range of emotions imprinted in your memory and sometimes my choice of angles and movement comes from a muscle memory or intuition rather than from my conscious planning. I’ve always admired Nagalakshmi, Vaishali – Pragg’s sister, and also his dad, whom I met in Chennai: same as all my Indian friends, they are kind, humble, care for each other and give everything to chess, while making Indian people so proud."

Praggnanandhaa has also been qualified for the prestigious Candidates event, which is regarded as one of the esteemed chess events.