Who is Praggnanandhaa, the Indian teenager to stun World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen?

World
No. 1 Magnus Carlsen bowed down to 16-year-old Indian Grandmaster
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, better known as R Praggnanandhaa, completed 39 moves
to trounce his Norwegian opponent, who is 22 years older than the Indian teenager, in the eighth round
of the Airthings Masters – an online rapid chess competition. Praggnanandhaa became
the third Indian to beat Carlsen in tournament play after Viswanathan Anand
and P Harikrishna.

Also Read: India’s R Praggnanandhaa, 16, stuns chess World No 1 Magnus Carlsen

The
historic moment in the Indian teenager’s young career arrived in the wee hours of Monday. It is the first leg of the virtual Play Magnus group-run Champions Chess Tour
and the round-robin is scored football-style – three points (and $750) for a
win, and one point (and $250) for each draw. Each player has 15 minutes for all
moves plus a 10 second per move increment.

Also Read: The Queen’s Gambit? Why chess icon Nona Gaprindashvili sued Netflix

Young
Praggnanandhaa has always been an extraordinary talent in the annals of Indian
chess. In 2016, he became the youngest International Master in history at 10
years, 10 months and 19 days. Two years later he became the then second-youngest
GM (after Sergey Karjakin) at 12 years, 10 months, 13 days. At sixteen today,
he belongs to the group of Indian teens who are throwing down the gauntlet on
the world chess circuit.

Also Read: Chess icon Nona Gaprindashvili sues Netflix over ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ snub

Praggnanandhaa,
who is currently ranked 165th in the world, has three world youth titles: U8 in
2013, U10 in 2015, and U18 in 2019. In 2019, the 13-year-old prodigy won the
Xtracon Chess Open with an undefeated 8.5/10 points, overtaking a field
featuring 13 GMs ranked over 2600. In April 2021, he won the Polgar Challenge
and qualified for the next leg in the Champions Chess Tour.

Also Read: Meet Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest chess Grandmaster

Following
his magnificent victory, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar congratulated the
teen GM. “What a wonderful feeling it must be for Pragg. All of 16, and to
have beaten the experienced & decorated Magnus Carlsen, and that too while
playing black, is magical! Best wishes on a long & successful chess career
ahead. You’ve made India proud,” Tendulkar tweeted.

Also Read: Who is Viswanathan Anand, former world chess champion?

Praggnanandhaa
was born in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, on August 10, 2005, to father Rameshbabu and mother
Nagalakshmi.