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Praggnanandhaa reveals he's 'much more confident, ambitious' after stellar run, says 'still a lot of fight till December
R Praggnanandhaa won Superbet Chess Classic Romania and UzChess Cup Masters in addition to the Tata Steel Chess in what has been a stellar run this year. Image: R Praggnanandhaa on X
Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is a lot more confident a player following a stellar run this year and is setting his sights on competing at the Candidates Tournament next year. Praggnanandhaa has won three titles so far this year, including the prestigious Tata Steel Chess in February, and is currently ranked fourth in the FIDE Classical Ratings, ahead of compatriots Arjun Erigaisi and D Gukesh – who occupy the fifth and sixth spots respectively.
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Praggnanandhaa, who had starred in India's historic golden sweep in last year's Chess Olympiad, would go on to win the Superbet Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest as well as the UzChess Cup Masters last week, where he defeated local favourites Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov in the tie-breakers.
And in an interaction with Press Trust of India, the 19-year-old – one of the youngest GMs in the sport's history – revealed that he is hungrier than ever after his recent success.
'I wasn't able to win as many games as I would have liked to (last year), but yeah, I'm much more confident now and much more ambitious than earlier. And, hopefully, I'll make it to the Candidates,' Praggnanandhaa told the news agency.
Pragg also keeping an eye on FIDE Grand Swiss and World Cup
And the Indian GM currently finds himself in an ideal position to qualify for Candidates by occupying the top spot on the FIDE Circuit 2025 standings with 86.28 points. Nodirbek and compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram occupy the second and third spots with 50.78 and 41.32 points respectively.
Candidates 2026 will feature the winners of FIDE Circuit 2024 and 2025 – the former having been won by American GM Fabiano Caruana.
The prestigious tournament will also feature the top-two finishers of FIDE Grand Swiss and the top three finishers in the FIDE World Cup, both of which take place later this year, along with the player with the highest average rating from August 2025 to January 2026.
Though he is leading the 2025 FIDE Circuit standings, 'Pragg' is confident of making the Candidates final list through other avenues even if he cedes the top spot to Nodirbek or some other player towards the end of the cycle.
'Yes, there are different (several) spots, of course. I am currently leading (the race for a Candidates spot) but there is still a lot of fight till December. But I think, I mean, I will also be playing the Grand Swiss and the World Cup. So, if I can make it in one of those, that will be better because I don't have to wait till December,' Praggnanandhaa added.
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As for the best player in the world at the moment, Praggnanandhaa maintained that world No 1 Magnus Carlsen will still well ahead of others despite the rise of India's 'Golden Generation', of which he is a part.
'I think Magnus is still the best player in the world. And I don't think there is any question about it. Whenever he plays a tournament, he is the favourite. He has been proving that he is still the best by winning every tournament. For me, personally, I take a lot of inspiration from him, the way he plays.
'For example, he won 9 out of 9 (games) in Grand Slam Freestyle Tournament, which I don't think anyone can do except Magnus. So, yeah, it's just brilliant,' Praggnanandhaa added.
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