India, Feb. 14 -- Earlier this month, a lesser-known Indian returned from Wijk aan Zee with a first-place finish. While Praggnanandhaa won the much-vaunted Masters title in the Dutch coastal village, becoming only the second Indian to do so after Viswanathan Anand, Vedant Panesar, a 21-year-old from Andheri, Mumbai, who shared the same playing hall, topped the Qualifiers. It earned him a spot in next year's Wijk aan Zee Challengers.

He ventures that he's picked up over a dozen International Master (IM) norms along the way. Panesar, who has an Elo rating of 2446, interestingly, has chosen not to apply for an IM title.

"I completed my IM title back in 2023, maybe November or December. But I decided not to apply for the title," Panesar tol...