Same-Move Checkmate: Praggnanandhaa’s strategy at IMC India Simul
On 8th August, GM R Praggnanandhaa took on ten IMC employees in a thrilling simul at IMC India's Mumbai Office. There was also a live commentary, a quiz, and prizes for the audience. Before the first move, Pragg announced his challenge to checkmate all ten opponents on the same move. Did he pull off his daring challenge? Read on to find out. Photo: IMC India
Praggnanandhaa’s Simul at IMC India
If you love chess, you might dream about becoming a professional chess player. Or at least, playing against one. Even if you don’t pursue chess professionally, that spark, that thrill of facing a grandmaster, stays with you. On 8th August, IMC India gave its employees in its Mumbai office a chance to live that dream. They hosted a thrilling chess simul with current India no. 1, GM R Praggnanandhaa. IMC is the lead sponsor of e-sports outfit Team Liquid’s chess unit that comprises Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, and Praggnandhaa.
The event began with a special video shoot by a crew from Amsterdam. Once the shoot was over, there was a meet-and-greet session for IMC employees with Praggnanandhaa. All the guests captured pictures and collected autographs from the young grandmaster.
Once the players took their seats, Praggnanandhaa entered the room, ready to face all ten players! Amruta took over the commentary and kept the audience engaged. There were some quiz questions that were flashed on the screens so that the audience could also participate. Those who gave the right answers won exciting gifts too. Overall, everyone present was excited.
No doubt the simul itself was a spectacle! Before it started, Jocelyn Dentand, Managing Director, IMC India, lightheartedly mentioned to Pragg that his employees were “scared” to see who would be checkmated first. Smart Pragg came up with a challenge: to checkmate all players on the same move! And that’s exactly what happened! Pragg strategized all the games very well and left everyone amazed.
Check out the transcript of Nagalakshmi’s interview.
About IMC
IMC is a global trading firm powered by a cutting-edge research environment and a world-class technology backbone. Since 1989, we’ve been a stabilising force in financial markets, providing essential liquidity upon which market participants depend. Across our offices in the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, and India, our talented quant researchers, engineers, traders, and business operations professionals are united by our uniquely collaborative, high-performance culture, and our commitment to giving back. From entering dynamic new markets to embracing disruptive technologies, and from developing an innovative research environment to diversifying our trading strategies, we dare to continuously innovate and collaborate to succeed.
