India, Sept. 3 -- Praggnanandhaa returned to his hotel room and splayed himself across his bed the night of his Grand Chess Tour win. He had spent a month living at the same hotel, in the same city - St Louis, Missouri. He chuckles that might have been a bit much had it not been for the results: he won two of the three tournaments.

The 21-year-old is back home in Chennai, playing pickleball and catching his breath before he heads to Uzbekistan for the Olympiad in mid-September. He is candid, pensive and characteristically droll as he talks about his recent run, growing up in the public eye and evolving as a player. "I'm not someone who was naturally ambitious. I didn't have a strong will to win," Pragg told HT in an interview.

"If you l...