R Praggnanandhaa, the youngest Indian chess grandmaster, shared a post on Tuesday in which he thanked industrialist Anand Mahindra for gifting an electric car to his parents. The gift comes in recognition of Mahindra's old post on X in which he said he would like to encourage parents to introduce their children to chess.
Praggnanandhaa's win over Ding Liren on January 16 has been lauded as a significant achievement in the world of chess, marking him as a rising star in the sport.
"Received XUV 400. My parents are very happy. Thank you very much Anand Mahindra, sir", Praggnanandhaa wrote in his post.
Earlier in a post on X on August 28, 2023, Anand Mahindra had said that he would like to encourage parents to introduce their children to Chess and support them as they pursue this cerebral game.
"It's an investment in a better future for our planet, just like EVs. And so, I think we should gift an XUV4OO EV to the parents of Praggnanandhaa - Shrimati Nagalakshmi and Shri Rameshbabu, who deserve our gratitude for nurturing their son's passion and for giving him their untiring support," Mahindra said in his post.
Since being posted online, R Praggnanandhaa's post garnered over 55k views, with many expressing their thoughts in the comments section of the post.
Praggnanandhaa is the highest-ranked Indian classical chess player. He leapfrogged Viswanathan Anand to the top spot. At just 18, he defeated reigning world champion Ding Liren on January 16.
In August 2023, R Praggnanandhaa lost to World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in a battle of nerves at the Chess World Cup final.