Prraneeth scores IM and GM-norm at the same event

Prraneeth Vuppala is an Asian Youth Under-8 Bronze medalist in 2015. He won Hyderabad District and Telangana State Under-11 in the same year 2017. In the following year he won Telangana State Under-11 again and also State Under-15 at the age of 11 years before scoring his maiden IM-norm. Last year he became champion in the AICF National Under-14 Open.

Prraneeth Vuppala becomes the latest International Master of India | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Prraneeth increased his rating by 179 points from October 2021 to March 2022

First IM-norm

Prraneeth scored his first IM-norm at Narcis 7 in Divcibare, Serbia in October 2018. He was only 11 years old then. He scored wins over GM Eduard Andreev (UKR), GM Milko Popchev (BUL), IM Igor Solomunovic (SRB), drew with GM Bogdan Lalic (CRO) and GM Miodrag R Savic (SRB).

Andreev - Prraneeth, Narcis 7

Position after 16...Ng3

16...Ng3 is a very nice move. White should not take it 17.hxg3 hxg3 is completely winning for Black. White accepted the sacrifice and lost the game in a few moves.

Prraneeth scored 5.5/9, performed at 2481 and gained 96.4 rating points in October 2018

Prraneeth's first IM-norm certificate

Prraneeth with the one and only - Boris Gelfand

Second IM-norm

Prraneeth scored his second IM-norm at Vergani Cup January 2022 in Cattolica, Italy. He scored an unbeaten 5.5/9. He won against GM Hans Niemann (USA) and WGM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (AZE), drew with GM Arjun Kalyan and GM Kenny Solomon (RSA).

Prraneeth - Hans, Vergani Cup 2022

Position after 23...a5

23...a5 may seem like an unassuming move at a first glance. Only after a careful observation, one might realize why it is a big positional mistake. Try to think like Prraneeth and find the best continuation for White.

Position after 32...Qe8

Find out the beautiful finish for White after 32...Qe8.

Prraneeth (right) en route his draw against GM Arjun Kalyan | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Prraneeth scored 5.5/9, performed at 2505 and gained 10.7 Elo rating points to earn his second IM-norm

Prraneeth with Anton Korobov

Young Prraneeth with the legendary Peter Svidler

Third IM and First GM-norm

Two months after scoring his second IM-norm, Prraneeth earned his final IM and maiden GM-norm at First Saturday GM March 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. Despite starting with a loss, Prraneeth scored 7 points in the remaining eight games. He defeated GM David Berczes (HUN), GM Lajos Seres (HUN), IM Bhakti Kulkarni and IM Ajay Krishna S. Prraneeth also drew with GM Milan Pacher (SVK) and IM Rathanvel V S.

Prraneeth - Seres, First Saturday GM March

Position after 17...Ng4+

17...Ng4+ is Black's final attempt to salvage something against material loss. 18.fxg4 Bxd4+ 19.Nf3 Bxe3+ 20.Qxe3 Rxf3+ 21.Kxf3 Rf8+ 22.Nf5 and it's all over for Black.

Prraneeth performed at 2614, to become India's latest IM and also score his maiden GM-norm

Prraneeth in action at First Saturday GM March 2022 | Photo: IO Laszlo Nagy

Prraneeth against IM Rathanvel V S in the final round | Photo: IO Laszlo Nagy

Prraneeth with GM Leinier Dominguez Perez

Replay Prraneeth's games