Making The Right Moves 

The image of a lanky young boy with vibhuti (sacred ash) on his forehead and an intent look in the eyes, focusing on his next move over a board of black and white squares, has become representative of India’s bright prospects in the world of chess. Chennai-based Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has achieved a lot at the international level, breaking several records year after year. Now his eyes are trained on the biggest victory of all: the world chess championship. A win at the FIDE Candidates Tournament in April next year will take the 18-year-old grandmaster closer to his dream—he will get to challenge current world champion Ding Liren.

Praggnanandhaa’s journey in the world of chess commenced more than 14 years ago, when he picked up the pieces under the guidance of his elder sister Vaishali, who is also a chess grandmaster. His mother Nagalakshmi regularly accompanies him to chess competitions. Praggnanandhaa is grateful for the support he received from his sister and parents. “It all started because of my sister. I watched her, and that is how I started my career. My parents supported me by helping me attend all the tournaments. This support from my family has been the key for me so far,” the chess prodigy tells Outlook Business.

An Unassuming Genius

Pragg, as he is often called in world chess circles, made waves in 2016 when he became the youngest International Master at the age of 10 years 10 months and 19 days. Two years later, he became the second youngest grandmaster in the world when he beat Luco Moroni at the Gredine Open in Italy. But the teenager is modest when asked about his record-breaking achievements. “I just want to play and give my 100%. I am happy that I keep getting chances to play against the top players and improve [my game],” he says. His responses to questions are sharp and concise, much like the game of blitz chess where each player is given a short period of time to play the entire game.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Praggnanandhaa went through a rough patch for a while, where he felt that he did not bring out his best game. But that changed in February 2022, when he defeated chess legend Magnus Carlsen for the first time at the Airthings Masters tournament. At just the age of 16, he became the third Indian after Vishwanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna to beat Norwegian grandmaster Carlsen in a tournament game. That year, he defeated Carlsen, who was also the world champion at that point, three straight times.

Eye on World Championship

The Chennai-based star has given himself a “realistically possible” target of three to four years to be the top-ranked chess player and win the world championship. His recent performance shows that he may even stand a chance to play the world championship match sooner than he would have expected. At the FIDE World Cup 2023 in Baku, Praggnanandhaa defeated the world’s third ranked Fabiano Caruana and second ranked Hikaru Nakamura to storm into the finals but  lost to Magnus Carlsen in the finals.

Pragg rates his performance in 2023 as the pinnacle of his career so far. Besides his world cup performance, he tasted success at the Global Chess League, where he was named “King of the Series” and emerged as the winner in the V. Geza Hetenyi Memorial Super GM Tournament in Budapest.

In April 2024, Toronto is set to host the FIDE Candidates Tournament, the final contest in the World Chess Championship cycle before the championship match itself. For Pragg, the tournament is an opportunity to challenge current world champion Ding Liren. If all goes well, he can have a shot at becoming the youngest world champion.