India’s 19-year-old Grandmaster Pranesh M clinched the Group A title at the prestigious Kanizsa Open 2026 in Nagykanizsa, Hungary, after an impressive performance in the nine-round tournament.
Pranesh defeated Germany’s Vadim Petrovskiy with the white pieces in the ninth and final round on Sunday to finish with seven points from nine rounds. The Tamil Nadu player, who hails from Karaikudi, is rated 2673 and ranked 44th in the latest FIDE rankings for August 2026.
He shared the top spot with Israel’s Or Bronstein, Ukraine’s Andrei Volokitin and fellow Indian GM Karthik Venkataraman, but claimed the title on a superior tiebreak. Bronstein, Volokitin and Karthik finished second, third and fourth, respectively.
Karthik had an opportunity to win the title outright but was held to a draw by Volokitin in the final round, leaving both players on seven points. Bronstein joined the group at the top after defeating compatriot and International Master Benny Aizenberg in the ninth round.
The Indian Embassy in Hungary congratulated Pranesh on his victory in a post on its official social media handle.
“Meet the new Indian Chess Champion!! Pranesh M. Huge Congratulations to Indian Grandmaster Pranesh M on his brilliant victory at the prestigious Kanizsa Open 2026 in Nagykanizsa, Hungary!” the Embassy said.
“After a thrilling ninth round, Pranesh secured the top spot in one of Central Europe’s most competitive open tournaments. We are incredibly proud to see Indian talent shining so brightly on the global stage,” it added, wishing him continued success.
Among the other Indian participants, Neelash Saha finished 10th with 6.5 points. Nitish Belurkar (20th), Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy (21st) and Bhattacharyya Soham (23rd) finished with six points each.
The Group A event featured a field of 226 players.
(With IANS inputs)
