Pranav and Hardaway take top honours at Fujairah Global Chess Championship

The inaugural Fujairah Global Chess Championship closed in dramatic fashion, as 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster Pranav Venkatesh captured the Superstars category crown with an emphatic performance.

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Championship was held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Bin Saif Al Sharqi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Body Building and Fitness Federation, gave away the prizes to the winners.

The event, a resounding success, brought together an impressive assembly of 600 male and female players from 75 nations, all converging at the newly established headquarters of the Fujairah Chess and Culture Club for this first edition of the championship.

Entering the tournament as the 23rd seed, Venkatesh, a reigning world junior champion from Bengaluru, defied expectations, storming through a field packed with grandmasters of international repute.

His final score of 7 points from 9 rounds placed him a full step ahead of his closest rivals, cementing his reputation as one of the brightest jewels in India’s ever-growing constellation of young chess talents.