NEW DELHI: The desert solar glared off the hoods of two Mercedes-Benz vehicles as they rolled as much as the doorway of Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, UAE. From the black automobile stepped out the 2024 World Junior Champion, GM Kazybek Nogerbek of Kazakhstan. From the white, India’s GM Pranav Venkatesh, the newly topped 2025 World Junior Champion.There have been no crowds, no fanfare. Not even a event banner fluttered within the wind. And but, what occurred subsequent would punch a gap within the chess calendar.In a match no one noticed coming, one which wasn’t introduced, promoted, and even broadly recognized to exist, 18-year-old Pranav toppled 21-year-old Nogerbek 1.5–0.5.The prize? A wildcard entry into the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss, one of many brutal gateways to the 2026 Candidates Match and finally, the World Championship.‘I believed I am not going to play Grand Swiss’With Nigeria’s Tennyson Ewomazino Olisa, Chile’s Cristobal Henriquez Villagra, and France’s Jules Moussard already filling three of the 4 continental spots for Grand Swiss 2025, Pranav completes the listing by securing the ultimate one by way of a particular wildcard match.The match, which FIDE later dubbed the ‘Asian Wildcard Match’, was so low-profile, it caught even {the teenager} GM off guard. “It was very stunning as a result of I believed, okay, this yr I’m not going to play within the Grand Swiss,” Pranav, who attained the Grandmaster (GM) title in 2022, instructed TimesofIndia.com in an unique interview.“However instantly, I received this mail from the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) saying they needed to organise a match for the wild card. And yeah, that’s the way it occurred.”The stakes, nevertheless, had been immense. The highest two finishers within the Grand Swiss would qualify instantly for the 2026 Candidates Match, the ultimate eight-player gauntlet earlier than the World Chess Championship match towards D Gukesh.‘I ought to have certified by ranking’Pranav had missed the Grand Swiss reduce on ranking by a whisker. However destiny, and a secretive alternative, got here calling.“For the FIDE Grand Swiss, I ought to have certified by ranking. However within the actual month once they took the qualification, my ranking dropped a bit,” the 2597-rated participant mentioned.Organised by the ACF, the match was a two-day dash utilizing the identical time management because the Grand Swiss: 100 minutes for 40 strikes, 50 for the following 20, and 15 for the rest. Pranav had by no means performed a format fairly prefer it.“Initially, this time management, I’ve by no means performed such a very long time management. Additionally, I’ve by no means performed a match like this, the place it’s identical to a knockout, you play two video games,” he defined.“I simply did the traditional stuff: with Black I attempted to be very stable, and with White I used to be making an attempt to win. That labored… I drew the primary recreation with Black fairly simply. And the second recreation, it was an extended one: a rook endgame, which is at all times not that simple. We each made some errors… however sure, he made the ultimate mistake.”Pranav joins an elite line-upThat mistake would pave the best way for Pranav’s Grand Swiss debut in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 3 to 16.It is going to be an 11-round Swiss format behemoth that includes 116 of the world’s finest within the Open part alone. In addition to the 2 coveted spots within the 2026 Candidates, it can additionally function a large $625,000 prize pool.
Ballot
Who do you suppose has the higher probability of profitable the 2026 Candidates Match?
With the wildcard, Pranav joins a stacked Indian lineup that features World Champion D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and R Praggnanandhaa. Worldwide heavyweights like Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Anish Giri may also be within the fray.However the 18-year-old from Chennai walks in with maybe probably the most surprising invitation and the least to lose.“This yr’s Grand Swiss may be very sturdy, and I’ll simply attempt to carry out my finest,” Pranav mentioned. “Within the subsequent few tournaments I’m enjoying, I’ll be seeking to enhance my ranking and attempt to play my finest. That might be my goal going ahead.”One minute, he was off the listing. The subsequent, stepping out of a white Benz in the course of the UAE warmth, incomes his seat at probably the most necessary, prestigious tournaments of his younger profession.Out of nowhere? Maybe. However make no mistake; Pranav V is prepared for the highlight.