Behind Praggnanandhaa's meteoric rise, a proud mother who is always by his side

Nagalaxmi's prayers, rock-solid support & home food have played a crucial role in keeping her prodigious son battle ready
For a few days now, a photo of a very different kind of superstar has gone viral. A still of R Praggnanandhaa's mother Nagalaxmi breaking into a smile after her son's victory over Fabiano Caruana, which took him to the FIDE World Cup finals, has caught everyone's attention.That includes a certain Garry Kasparov, who congratulated the chess prodigy and his mother in a tweet: "As someone whose proud mama accompanied me to every event, it's a special kind of support!"
It's true. Ask any of Praggnanandhaa's coaches or fellow players and they will tell you the integral part his mother has played in shaping him to be the player he is today, whether it is taking him to classes, ensuring his home is conducive for practice or just plying him with some home food even when thousands of miles away from home. Nagalaxmi's entire life has revolved around helping Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali grow into world grandmasters in their categories.

"The arenas where Praggnanandhaa plays are so silent that I am always afraid people can hear the loud ‘daba daba' of my heart palpitating," said Nagalaxmi in an earlier interview. "I don't make eye contact with my son during any of his games because I don't want him to know that I know what he is feeling. Though he is trained not to show emotion, as a mother I can tell when he is confident or crestfallen."
Though she has spent years taking her son to tournaments and classes, Nagalaxmi admits she still does not know how to play the game. "But one look at his face and I know how the game is going for him," she says.
S Thiyagarajan of the Chennai-based Bloom Chess Academy, who was Praggnanandhaa's first coach, recalls how Nagalaxmi would arrive at tournaments, sit by herself in a corner and keep praying until her son's games were over. "He was just seven but she would pray during every single game, whatever the level of the tournament," says Thiyagarajan. "His chess coaching classes would begin at 10 am and end at 7 pm but I used to give him three-four hours of homework after that. Or we would continue the coaching at home after 7 pm. His mother would always be by his side.
And once they were done by around 10 pm, she would wrap up her household chores," he says. "That's why I never had time to learn the game. My job is to just ensure they play it well," says Nagalaxmi, whose day begins at 6am and ends at midnight.

"As kids, Prag and his sister watched too much TV," says Nagalaxmi, which was why she decided to enrol them in chess classes. Today, the TV is hardly ever on in their house. "I keep things quiet in the house so they can concentrate," she says. Even house guests are greeted and hosted in the car park or at the foyer so as not to disturb the children.
When they travel for tournaments, Nagalaxmi takes along an induction stove and two steel vessels to make rasam and rice for her children. This time too, says Rameshbabu, Praggnanandhaa's father, who is in Chennai, the first things she packed in her luggage were rice, a rice cooker and masalas. "I know that something as simple as eating your comfort food can put you in the right frame of mind for battle."