The man who gave India two gems - Vaishali and Pragg. That's S. Thiyagarajan - the first coach of Pragg and Vaishali. The bottom picture was taken nearly 14 years ago and the above frame was captured on the 20th of April 2026 after Vaishali returned from Cyprus becoming the Women's World Championship Challenger!
What a proud moment for S. Thiyagarajan. As GM R.B. Ramesh mentioned, "Due credit should be given to Thiyagarajan for imbuing in the youngsters a "passion and work ethic" that are "out of this world". Thiyagrajan has produced "gems" and deserves far more visibility for his contribution to Indian chess than what he gets right now."
Thiyagarajan is the assistant head coach at the Bloom Chess Academy and has dedicated his life to chess coaching and training.
Photo: Aditya Sur Roy/ChessBase India
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