India’s GM Pranesh M Wins Kanizsa Open 2026 Title in Hungary

Grandmaster Pranesh M, the young chess talent from India, has claimed victory in the Kanizsa Open 2026 Group A event that was played in Nagykanizsa, Hungary. The 19-year-old Grandmaster from the state of Tamil Nadu ended up winning the championship from a tie on superior tie-break scores after being tied in the first position after nine rounds of play. The young Indian Grandmaster ended up clinching the title after a fine win against Germany’s Vadim Petrovskiy in the ninth and last round with white pieces.

Pranesh M Wins Title in Last Round

Pranesh was playing the final round as there was still some uncertainty over the winner of the championship. In the last round, he managed to beat German Grandmaster Vadim Petrovskiy and got a score of 7 points out of 9 rounds.

This victory made him join three others in the tie of first position: Israeli GM Or Bronstein, Ukrainian GM Andrei Volokitin and Indian GM Karthik Venkataraman.

But finally, Pranesh became the overall champion as he had better tie break scores compared to his competitors.

Four Players on Seven Points at the End

The championship ended up having a lot of action around the top places.

Bronstein joined the group of leaders in the last round, beating his compatriot and IM Benny Aizenberg. But Karthik Venkataraman missed his chance to become a single leader after drawing with Volokitin in the last round.

Here are the final standings of the joint leaders,

• Pranesh M – Champion
• Or Bronstein – Second
• Andrei Volokitin – Third
• Karthik Venkataraman – Fourth

All four of them finished the championship with 7 points.

About Grandmaster Pranesh M

Pranesh M is an Indian Grandmaster aged 19 years who belongs from Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.

He began his participation in the event with an FIDE rating of 2673 and ranked 44th in the August 2026 FIDE rankings, according to the tournament report.

The victory in Kanizsa Open event further cements his reputation as one of the talented young Indian Grandmasters who regularly participate in international tournaments.

Indian Representation in the Kanizsa Open Event

Several Indian players were participants in the Group A event that had 226 players.

Other Indian players in the group included,

• Neelash Saha placed 10th with 6.5 points.
• Nitish Belurkar placed 20th with six points.
• Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy placed 21st with six points.
• Bhattacharyya Soham placed 23rd with six points.

Also among the top four is Karthik Venkataraman, thus making a strong representation for India in Hungary.