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Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
World champion D Gukesh might have taken a sabbatical from classical chess but his commitment to major events remains intact and he will be up against some of the world's best players in the Zagreb Rapid and Blitz Tournament beginning here on Wednesday. The event is part of the Grand Chess Tour or GCT, which is the biggest platform to bring together top players. This will be the third event under the GCT brand this year with three more to come. This event will also feature Indian star R Praggnanandhaa, who is fresh from his victory at the Norway Chess ahead of none other than world number one Magnus Carlsen. The event will feature nine rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz chess. Each rapid victory will be worth two points and a draw will fetch one point while in blitz, one point will be awarded for a win and a half for a draw. Gukesh had surprisingly walked out of the GCT citing his recent performances. The reigning world champion has to defend his title against Javokhir SIndar
R Praggnanandhaa described his Norway Chess triumph as the biggest achievement of his career, emphasising that defeating some of the world's strongest players - including the great Magnus Carlsen - made the title particularly memorable. He said the event's extraordinary strength, with one of the highest average ratings ever assembled in a tournament, added even greater weight to his victory. Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to win Norway Chess since the tournament's inception in 2013, capping off a landmark campaign by defeating world No. 1 and seven-time champion Carlsen twice -- a rare feat against one of the game's greatest players. His triumph came in an exceptionally strong field, with all six players in the 'Open' section rated above 2700 and Carlsen leading the pack at 2840, adding further lustre to the title. "I think this is like (the biggest win of my career)...also stronger in terms of like average rating. I think, because you have like some 2600s (rating) in Wijk
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa scripted history as he became the first Indian to win the prestigious Norway Chess title with a final-round victory over Germany's Vincent Keymer here on Friday. Praggnanandhaa, who began the day in third place with 15 points, delivered when it mattered the most, securing a classical win worth three full points to finish on 18 points and clinch one of the most coveted trophies in elite chess. In doing so, the 20-year-old Chennai player achieved a feat that had eluded even Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand and reigning world champion D Gukesh among others, since the tournament's inception in 2013. Competing in Norway Chess for only the second time, Praggnanandhaa endured a slow start in the elite six-player field before gathering momentum in the second half of the event. His campaign was highlighted by a remarkable achievement -- defeating seven-time Norway Chess champion and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen twice in classical chess -- a rare accomplishmen
D Gukesh emerged victorious after a bruising, nerve-jangling marathon battle against Vincent Keymer, and R Praggnanandhaa outplayed Alireza Firouzja but world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen suffered a rare opening-round defeat at Norway Chess, which began amid towering bookshelves at the historic Deichman Bjorvika public library here. Thanks to his Armageddon triumph after a draining 144-move slugfest that lasted nearly five hours, Gukesh pocketed 1.5 points, while Keymer settled for one after the classical game had ended in a stalemate. The marathon encounter saw the Indian world champion visibly rattled in the closing stages, even seeking clarification from the arbiter over the move count as the game drifted towards an inevitable draw despite Keymer being a pawn up. The German, however, remained ice-cool throughout the classical battle, continuing to press on before eventually losing the Armageddon decider. But the tie-break itself ended swiftly, with Gukesh unleashing the decisive 15.Bh6,
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa finished third while Slovenia's Vladimir Fedoseev expectedly won the Superbet Rapid and Blitz tournament, an event on the Grand Chess tour. Indian GM Aravindh Chithambaram did not see any change in his fortunes in the blitz section and had to be content with a tie for seventh place in his maiden outing in the GCT. Fedoseev, who enjoyed a massive 3.5 points lead coming in to the final day, seemed unstoppable in the blitz section yet again scoring a massive 7.5/9 as he pocketed the winner's purse of USD 40,000. His overall score was 26.5 points out of a possible 36 in the event that offered two points for a win in rapid and one in blitz. A distant second was Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, who ended five points behind on 21.5 followed by Praggnanandhaa, who had 20.5 to his credit. In the overall standings of the GCT, Vachier-Lagrave leads ahead of Praggnanandhaa while Fedoseev, a wild card, will have to wait for his turn to become a permanent ...
Overjoyed by India's remarkable dual triumph at the Chess Olympiad, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand said that while this marks a promising beginning, there is still much work to be done for women's chess in the country. India scripted history on Sunday as both its men's and women's teams secured their first-ever titles, achieving a remarkable clean sweep of gold medals at the Chess Olympiad. But while in recent times, the men's game has surged in popularity with young Indian talents like R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh making waves on the world stage, in contrast, the women's game has struggled to match this trajectory. "It's a very good beginning. I think still a long way to go because we must continuously keep progressing," Anand told PTI, at the sidelines of Tech Mahindra Global Chess League. "And more important, get more and more girls to play and I think exactly this result will inspire more girls to play, and that is the hope," he added. The 54-year-old chess icon
Artificial Intelligence, an upcoming birthday, and the ambition to make India a sporting powerhouse came up for discussion when Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the Olympiad gold-winning Indian chess teams at his residence, seeking to understand their mindset in the high-pressure event. In the interaction that took place on Thursday evening, both the men's and women's teams, who won gold medals in the event for the first time ever, sat with the PM to share their experience and also ask him about his interest in sports. The men's team featured the youngest ever world championship challenger D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, P Harikrishna and captain Srinath Narayanan. The women's team was made up of R Vaishali, Tania Sachdev, D Harika, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal. They were captained by Abhijit Kunte. Modi asked them about their sensational run during which the men's team won 21 of the 22 points on offer and the women gathered 19 from a total of 2
R Praggnanandhaa tried hard but had to settle for a draw with David Navara of Czech Republic in the final round of Prague Masters chess tournament that concluded here on Thursday. Praggnanandhaa can take heart from the fact that he goes in to the candidates as the top rated Indian slated to be held in about four weeks from now in Toronto. It took a mammoth effort from FIDE and various channels to resolve the visa issue for the candidates but as of now everything seems to be in order for one of the biggest events of the year. With five draws happening between 10 players in the final round nothing actually changed. Abdusattarov had won the event with a round to spare clocking 6/8 and he inched up to 6.5 points for probably his career best performance. Praggnanandhaa to his credit ended on a plus score clocking five points alongside Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran and surprise packet Ngyen Thai Dai Van of Czech Republic with all three of them tallying five points out of a possible ...
The Indian men's and women's chess teams won silver medals at the Asian Games here on Saturday. GM Harika Dronavalli, IM Vaishali Rameshbabu, IM Vantika Agrawal, and WGM Savitha Shri Baskar all won their games in a dominating fashion to beat South Korea 4-0 in the final round to finish with 15 match points. The top-seeded Chinese team won its last round match against the UAE with a 4-0 margin to take the gold with 17/18 match points. The Indian men finished their campaign with a 3.5-0.5 win against the Philippines. Top seeds Arjun Erigaisi, D Gukesh, Vidit Gujrathi, and Harikrishna Pentala all won their matches against their Filipino counterparts while R Praggnanandhaa drew his game to finish second behind gold winners Iran.
Indian men and women's teams put up a strong show, posting convincing wins in the eighth round of the chess team competition at the Asian Games here on Friday. The men outplayed South Korea 3.5-0.5 while the women thrashed Hong Kong 4-0. After eight rounds, both the teams are in second spot with a round to play. In the India-South Korea match, D Gukesh went past Junhyeok Lee on the top board, while Praggnanandhaa got the better of Se Hyun Kwan. Arjun Erigaisi's win over In-Jung Gu came after a stiff fight with the Korean having gained an advantage before slipping up. The experienced P Harikrishna salvaged a draw against Ahn Hongjin on the fourth board from what seemed a lost position. The top-seeded men's team meets the Philippines on Saturday in the final round while Iran comes up against South Korea. In the women's match, India did not have any trouble with the quartet of D Harika, R Vaishali, Vantika Agarwal and B Savitha Shri winning easily. With none of the Hong Kong playe
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa, who recently made history by clinching the silver medal in the FIDE World Cup. "Had very special visitors at 7, LKM today. Delighted to meet you, @rpragchess along with your family. You personify passion and perseverance. Your example shows how India's youth can conquer any domain. Proud of you," Modi said on X after meeting him and his parents. Praggnanandhaa earlier said, "It was a great honour to meet Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi at his residence! Thank you sir for all the words of encouragement to me and my parents.
Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa, who made history by clinching the silver medal in the 2023 FIDE World Cup, and entered the FIDE Candidates tournament, was accorded a rousing reception upon his arrival at the airport here on Wednesday. The officials from the state sports department received him at the airport. His fans eagerly waited at the exit gate and presented him a crown of flowers, a shawl and bouquets. Flowers were strewn on his path as he stepped out and artists performed Karagattam and Oyilattam, folk dances of Tamil Nadu, on the occasion. The teenager took his time watching the media persons swarm on either side of the vehicle into which he got into, and reacted I am very happy over the reception. He accepted the national tricolour offered to him and waved it. His mother Nagalakshmi too expressed glee over the grand reception accorded to her 18-year-old son. Indian Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa's dream run in the FIDE World Cup ended at the hands of Norwegian Magnus Carlse
PM Narendra Modi lauded Indian chess grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa for his remarkable performance who came second at the FIDE World Cup. World No 1 Magnus Carlsen defeated India's grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa to clinch the title of International Chess Federation World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday."We are proud of Praggnanandhaa for his remarkable performance at the FIDE World Cup! He showcased his exceptional skills and gave a tough fight to the formidable Magnus Carlsen in the finals. This is no small feat. Wishing him the very best for his upcoming tournaments," PM Modi wrote on his X (Formerly Twitter) handle. The Norwegian chess grandmaster won the first game of the Rapid Chess tie-breaker with black pieces and managed to hold on for a draw in the second game with white pieces. The tiebreaker is played in a Rapid Chess quicker-time control format. Praggnanandhaa fought hard but fell short with Carlsen summoning all his big match experience when it mattered the most.Earlier ..
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa drew the second classical game of the final of the FIDE World Cup against world No.1 Magnus Carlsen here on Wednesday. The two players settled for a quiet draw in 30 moves after one-and-a-half hours of play in game two. The champion will be decided in the tie-breaks on Thursday. Carlsen played a solid game with white pieces against Praggnanandhaa. The teenaged Indian did not face any troubles with black pieces, with the players agreeing to a draw after 30 moves in an equal Bishop ending. The first game on Tuesday had ended in a stalemate after over four hours of play and 70-plus moves, following which Carlsen said he was a bit under the weather. The 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa had stunned world No. 3 Fabiano Caruana on Monday via the tie-break in the semifinals to set up a summit clash with Carlsen at the World Cup. Praggnanandhaa, thus, became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates
With India producing chess Grandmasters aplenty besides setting a name for itself on the world stage, legendary Indian GM Viswanathan Anand firmly believes that the current lot happens to be a golden generation in Indian chess. His comments came at a time when the Indian players have hogged the limelight in the Chess World Cup in Baku (Azerbaijan), where young GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is competing in the final against reigning world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway. Speaking to a weekly news magazine, Anand was quoted as saying that he was amazed by the fact that most of the current lot possesses a 2,700-plus Elo rating, especially below 20 years of age, terming it "special". I'm throwing in the title early, but they are a golden generation. They are all in the 2,700-plus group (Elo rating). And they're all under 20. That just does not happen; it's really something special." "And what this means, and the reason I call them the golden generation, is they're going to spend the next