R Praggnanandhaa

In this Indian name, the name Rameshbabu is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Praggnanandhaa.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
Praggnanandhaa in 2024
CountryIndia
Born (2005-08-10) 10 August 2005 (age 19)
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
TitleGrandmaster (2018)
FIDE rating2737 (November 2024)
Peak rating2757 (July 2024)
RankingNo. 18 (November 2024)
Peak rankingNo. 8 (July 2024)

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (born 10 August 2005) is an Indian chess grandmaster. As of 2 September 2024, Praggnanandhaa is ranked 12th in the world by the International Chess Federation.[1] Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali are the first brother and sister to earn GM titles.[2] They are also the first brother and sister to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.[3]

Early and personal life

Praggnanandhaa (right) pictured with his mother, Nagalakshmi (left).

Praggnanandhaa was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on 10 August 2005.[4] His father, Rameshbabu, works as a branch manager at TNSC Bank,[5] and his mother, Nagalakshmi, is a homemaker who often accompanies Praggnanandhaa when he travels for tournaments.[6] His elder sister, Vaishali, is also a chess grandmaster.[7]

Aside from chess, Praggnanandhaa enjoys playing table tennis and watching cricket in his spare time.[8]

Career

2013–2017

Praggnanandhaa won the World Youth Chess Championship Under-8 title in 2013, earning him the title of FIDE Master. He won the under-10 title in 2015.[9]

In 2016, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest international master in history, at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days.[10][11] He achieved his first grandmaster norm at the World Junior Chess Championship in November 2017, finishing fourth with 8 points.[12]

2018

He gained his second norm at the Heraklion Fischer Memorial GM norm tournament in Greece on 17 April 2018.[13] On 23 June 2018 he achieved his third and final norm at the Gredine Open in Urtijëi, Italy, by defeating Luca Moroni in the eighth round to become, at the age of 12 years, 10 months and 13 days, the then second-youngest person ever to achieve the rank of grandmaster (Sergey Karjakin attained the title at 12 years and 7 months).[14] He is the sixth-youngest person ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster (GM), behind Abhimanyu Mishra,[15] Karjakin, Gukesh Dommaraju, Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş, and Javokhir Sindarov.[16]

In 2018, Praggnanandhaa was invited to the Magistral de León Masters in Spain for a four-game rapid match against Wesley So. He defeated So in game one, and after three games the score was tied at 1½–1½. In the last game, So defeated Praggnanandhaa, winning the match 2½–1½.[17]

In January 2018, Praggnanandhaa tied for third place with GM Alder Escobar Forero and IM Denys Shmelov in the Charlotte Chess Center's Winter 2018 GM Norm Invitational held in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a score of 5.0/9.[18]

2019

In July 2019, Praggnanandhaa won the Xtracon Chess Open in Denmark, scoring 8½/10 points (+7–0=3).[19] On 12 October 2019, he won the World Youth Championships in the Under-18 section with a score of 9/11.[20] In December 2019, he became the second-youngest person to achieve a rating of 2600.[21] He did this at the age of 14 years, 3 months and 24 days.

2021

In April 2021, Praggnanandhaa won the Polgar Challenge, the first leg (out of four) of the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour, a rapid online event organized by Julius Baer Group and Chess24.com for young talents.[22] He scored 15.5/19, 1.5 points ahead of the next best placed competitors.[23] This win helped him qualify for the next Meltwater Champions Chess Tour on 24 April 2021, where he finished in 10th place with a score of 7/15 (+4-5=6), including wins against Teimour Radjabov, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Sergey Karjakin, and Johan-Sebastian Christiansen as well as a draw against World Champion Magnus Carlsen.[24]

Praggnanandhaa entered the Chess World Cup 2021 as the 90th seed. He defeated GM Gabriel Sargissian 2–0 in round 2, and advanced to round 4 after defeating GM Michał Krasenkow in the rapid tiebreaks in round 3. He was eliminated in round four by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

2022

Praggnanandhaa played in the Masters section of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022, winning games against Andrey Esipenko, Vidit Gujrathi and Nils Grandelius, finishing in 12th place with a final score of 5½.

He was part of India-2 team in the 44th Chess Olympiad, which went on to finish third and win the bronze medal.

On 20 February 2022, he became the third Indian player (after Anand and Harikrishna) to win a game against World Champion Magnus Carlsen in any time format, in the online Airthings Masters rapid tournament of the Champions Chess Tour 2022, with a 15+10 time control.[25][26] The record has since broken by Gukesh D, on 16 October 2022.[27][28]

At the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament in May 2022, he defeated Carlsen once again, his second win over him in three months, and advanced to the finals.[29][30][31]

He also defeated Carlsen three times in the FTX Crypto Cup 2022, finishing second behind Carlsen in the final standings.[32]

2023

In January 2023, Praggnanandhaa played in the Tata Steel Chess Masters 2023. He defeated a 2800-rated grandmaster, Ding Liren, his first time playing, so in a classical game.[33] He ended the tournament in 9th place with a score of 6/13.[34]

In the Chess World Cup 2023, 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa became the world's youngest player to reach the Chess World Cup final, defeating[35] Fabiano Caruana in tie-breaks in the semi-final. He also became the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to reach the final in Chess World Cup history. His play[36] against former classical World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the final resulted in a defeat in the rapid tie-breaks, securing him second place and qualification for the 2024 Candidates Tournament. He was seconded during that tournament by Russian grandmaster Peter Svidler.[37]

2024

Praggnanandhaa placed 5th out of 8 participants in the 2024 Candidates Tournament, getting 7 points out of 14. Additionally, in the 3rd round of the Norway Chess 2024 tournament, he defeated Magnus Carlsen for the first time in a classical 'over the board' match.[38] At the 45th Chess Olympiad in September 2024, Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali were part of the Indian teams which went on to win gold medals in the Open section and Women's section respectively.[39]

Awards and recognition

National

Others

See also

References

  1. ^ "FIDE Ratings and Statistics". FIDE International Chess Federation. 2023. sec. "Top 100 Players June 2024". Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  2. ^ "R Vaishali becomes grandmaster, joins R Praggnanandhaa to become world's first brother-sister GM duo". India Today. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa make history as the first-ever brother-sister duo to become Grandmasters". The Indian Express. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Who is Praggnanandhaa, the 16-year-old who beat world champion at Airthings Masters chess?". The Economic Times. 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. ^ Susan Ninan (1 July 2018). "Praggnanandhaa: The boy who could be king". ESPN.
  6. ^ Susan Ninan (2 December 2023). "The Indian siblings taking the chess world by storm". BBC.
  7. ^ Kumar, P. K. Ajith (2 December 2023). "R. Vaishali becomes India's third female chess Grandmaster". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  8. ^ Soutik Biswas (25 February 2022). "Praggnanandhaa: How India is emerging as a chess powerhouse". BBC.
  9. ^ "I'm Praggnanandhaa, world's youngest ever chess International Master". The Indian Express. 1 June 2016. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  10. ^ Priyadarshan Banjan (29 May 2016). "Praggnanandhaa – youngest chess IM in history!". ChessBase. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  11. ^ Barden, Leonard (21 October 2016). "Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa chases world grandmaster age record at 11". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  12. ^ "2017 World Juniors: Praggnanandhaa gains maiden GM norm". All India Chess Federation. 24 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Praggnanandhaa bags his second GM norm". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Praggnanandhaa becomes India's youngest Grandmaster". ESPN. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  15. ^ "GM Abhimanyu Mishra is the Youngest GM in History!". USCF Online. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Chennai's Praggnanandhaa becomes 2nd youngest GM". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Praggnanandhaa gives a major scare to Wesley So at the Leon Masters 2018". ChessBase India. 8 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  18. ^ "CCCSA GM/IM Norm Invitational – May 2022 GM/IM Norm Invitational Chess Tournament". Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Danish feather in cap for dominant Praggnanandhaa". The New Indian Express. 29 July 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  20. ^ "14-year-old R Praggnanandhaa crowned U-18 champion, India win 7 medals at World Youth Chess Championship". The Indian Express. 12 October 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Praggnanandhaa becomes the youngest Indian to cross 2600 Elo ever, second youngest in the world". ChessBase India. 5 December 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  22. ^ Praggnanandhaa wins Polgar Challenge with a round to spare Archived 12 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. The Times of India. 11 April 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  23. ^ Praggnanandhaa powers into Champions Chess Tour Archived 13 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Chess24.com. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  24. ^ "New in Chess Classic: Carlsen wins preliminaries". Chess News. 27 April 2021. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  25. ^ "Praggnanandhaa upstages Carlsen in Airthings Masters chess". Hindustan Times. 21 February 2022. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Chess: Indian GM Praggnanandhaa defeats world champion Magnus Carlsen at Airthings Masters". amp.scroll.in. 21 February 2022. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  27. ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (17 October 2022). "Duda New Leader At Aimchess Rapid; Gukesh Youngest Player To Beat Carlsen". Chess.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Aimchess Rapid: Gukesh youngest-ever to beat Carlsen, Duda leads". Chess News. 16 October 2022. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  29. ^ "India's R Praggnanandhaa stuns World Champion Magnus Carlsen for second time in year". ANI. 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  30. ^ "R Praggnanandhaa, 16, Sails Into Semifinals Of Chessable Masters | Chess News". NDTVSports.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  31. ^ Rakesh Rao (25 May 2022). "Chessable Masters: Praggnanandhaa shocks Anish Giri, meets Ding Liren in final". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  32. ^ "FTX Crypto Cup: Games and standings". Chess News. 21 August 2022. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  33. ^ "Both Carlsen and Ding defeated | Round 4". Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  34. ^ "Standings – Tata Steel Chess Tournament". Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  35. ^ "Chess World Cup 2023: India's Praggnanandhaa defeats Fabiano Caruana in tiebreaks, sets up the final with Magnus Carlsen". Hindustan Times. 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  36. ^ "Chess World Cup 2023 Semi-Final LIVE: Praggnanandhaa defeats Caruana to seal final against Magnus Carlsen". The Indian Express. 19 August 2023. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  37. ^ "Russian Grandmaster Peter Svidler to assist R. Praggnanandhaa in maiden candidates tournament". Sportslumo. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  38. ^ "Praggnanandhaa Scores 1st Classical Win Vs. Carlsen, Leads in Norway". 29 May 2024.
  39. ^ "Chess Olympiad: Double delight for India as they clinch gold medals in Open and Women's events; Gukesh, Arjun and Divya star once more". 22 September 2024.
  40. ^ "CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2023: R Praggnanandhaa Wins Rising Sportstar Award". CNN-News18. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu.
Achievements
Preceded by Youngest ever Indian Grandmaster
2018–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Asian Chess Champion
2022 		Succeeded by