Telangana’s Prraneeth Vuppala becomes 82nd Grandmaster of India

Prraneeth Vuppala has become India’s 82nd Grandmaster after he achieved the required 2,500 FIDE rating points

Hyderabad: Telangana’s Prraneeth Vuppala has become India’s 82nd Grandmaster after he achieved the required 2,500 FIDE rating points during the Baku Open tournament.

The State chess player had already achieved three GM norms earlier and needed to cross 2,500 rating points. He got the required points after defeating GM Hans Niemann of the USA in the penultimate round of the Baku Open. Prraneeth is now the sixth Grandmaster from the State of Telangana.

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Speaking after the feat, the 16-year-old said he was delighted to achieve the title. “I am happy and I will keep working hard. My next target is to reach 2,600 rating points. I didn’t set any deadline but want to achieve it as soon as possible,” he said.

Target “My goal is to achieve 2,800 rating points and become the World Champion. But as of now, my focus is on my next tournament. I am going to participate in the Asian Continental tournament in Kazakhstan starting next month,” he revealed

The Intermediate CEC first-year student from Vishwa Chaitanya College is working eight to 10 hours daily to achieve his dream.

He trained with Rama Raju, a noted chess coach at the RACE academy till 2021 and now trains with Israel GM Viktor Mikhalevski.

Prraneeth earned his first GM norm in March 2022 and achieved the International Master title. Four months later in July 2022, he earned his second GM norm at Biel MTO. He achieved his third and final GM norm at the Formentera Sunway International Chess Festival in Spain in April.

An admirer of world champion Magnus Carlsen, Prraneeth said, “I train on my own during the tournament and on regular days, I read chess books and I play chess online with multiple players. That keeps me on my toes,” he concluded.