R Praggnanandhaa: India chess prodigy takes on Magnus Carlsen in World Cup final
BBC
Tue, August 22, 2023
R Praggnanandhaa is one of the most talented chess players in India
Indian chess fans are delighted as the country's R Praggnanandhaa is set to take on No. 1 ranked Magnus Carlsen in the World Cup final.
Praggnanandhaa, 18, had defeated World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana in a tie-breaker on Monday to advance to the finals.
Carlsen had reached the final over the weekend after defeating Nijat Abasov.
This is the first time that Carlsen, 32, will play in the final of the World Cup, held by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
The final match will begin on Tuesday at Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
Praggnanandhaa, who turned 18 earlier this month, is the youngest to play in the World Cup final.
The teenager has also become the third-youngest person in the world to qualify for the Candidates Tournament, which will be held next year to determine the challenger for the world champion title. Both Carlsen and US chess genius Bobby Fischer had qualified for the tournament when they were 16 years old.
Praggnanandhaa - popularly known as Pragg - is one of India's most promising chess players.
The Indian teenager who defeated a world champion
He was just 10 years old when he became the youngest International Master in the history of the game. Two years later, in 2018, he became the world's then second-youngest chess grandmaster.
Last year, he defeated Carlsen at the Airthings Masters, an online rapid tournament, becoming only the third Indian to defeat the Norwegian grandmaster.
He's also the first Indian since chess legend Vishwanathan Anand to make it to the final of the FIDE World Cup.
On Tuesday, Anand led the celebrations after Praggnanandhaa's victory with a post on X, saying "What a performance!"
Former World champions Susan Polgar and Garry Kasparov also congratulated the teenager on social media.
Reacting to his win on Monday, Praggnanandhaa said that he hadn't expected to play against Carlsen in the tournament because "the only way I could play him was in the final, and I didn't expect to be in the final".
"I will just try to give my best and see how it goes," he said.
Rhea Mogul and Ben Morse, CNN
Mon, August 21, 2023
Millions in India will be cheering on the teen chess prodigy known as Pragg as he takes on Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen for the title of World Chess Champion on Tuesday.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 18, is set to square off against the five-time world champion in Baku, Azerbaijan after defeating Fabiano Caruana in a tense match to secure his place in the final.
It comes more than one year after Praggnanandhaa shocked the chess world by beating Carlsen in an online elite rapid chess tournament, becoming the youngest player to defeat the Norwegian since he became world champion in 2013.
The win reverberated across India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar praising Praggnanandhaa for his skill and talent.
Born and raised in Chennai in southern India, Praggnanandhaa took an interest in the game after his older sister, Vaishali, started playing at age 6. At the time, he was just 2 years old.
“I usually went and disturbed her and then my parents decided to buy me a chess book, and that’s how it started,” Praggnanandhaa told CNN Sport last year.
Vaishali later became a grandmaster in 2018 and an international master in 2021.
Magnus Carlsen in Warsaw, Poland, on May 20, 2023. - Andrzej Iwanczuk/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Living in Chennai, known as the “chess capital of India,” Praggnanandhaa was given many opportunities to hone his craft, notably at the Bloom Chess academy, where he says he “learned a lot.”
At the age of 6, he came second in the under-7 Indian championships before winning gold at the Asian Championships, then went onto win the World Youth Chess Championships for under-8s and under-10s.
Then, in 2016, he created history after winning his ninth round game at the KIIT International Chess Festival in Bhubaneswar, India.
Indian chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, then 12, smiles with his mother Nagalakshmi in Chennai on June 26, 2018.
- Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images/File
Praggnanandhaa earned his third international master norm, an achievement handed out for high level of performance in a tournament. Having earned two previous norms already, at the age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days, he became an international chess master – the youngest ever.
Despite all his victories, Praggnanandhaa remains modest about his achievements, even telling CNN Sport after defeating Carlsen last year that all he wanted to do after was “go to bed” as it was 2.30 a.m. in Chennai.
“I think maybe some people see me (as a role model),” he said at the time. “I don’t know, because I think for me, all the top players are role models because each one has different qualities to learn from. And if someone can learn something from me, that’s good.”
Praggnanandhaa earned his third international master norm, an achievement handed out for high level of performance in a tournament. Having earned two previous norms already, at the age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days, he became an international chess master – the youngest ever.
Despite all his victories, Praggnanandhaa remains modest about his achievements, even telling CNN Sport after defeating Carlsen last year that all he wanted to do after was “go to bed” as it was 2.30 a.m. in Chennai.
“I think maybe some people see me (as a role model),” he said at the time. “I don’t know, because I think for me, all the top players are role models because each one has different qualities to learn from. And if someone can learn something from me, that’s good.”
No comments:
Post a Comment