R. Praggnanandhaa summons his best and shows why Magnus Carlsen sees a lot of himself in the Indian

The Hindu

2 days ago

In the latest World rankings released by FIDE, three of the top 10 are from India. The only other country that has more than one player in that list, published at the beginning of the month by the world chess governing body, is the United States, which has two.
R. Praggnanandhaa is ranked fourth, making him the highest ranked Indian; he is followed in fifth and sixth places by Arjun Erigaisi and D. Gukesh, respectively. It is the first time that the 19-year-old from Chennai is the India No. 1.
Not a big deal
Not that he considers it a big deal. 'I am just [three points] ahead [of Arjun and Gukesh],' he stressed while talking to The Hindu recently over the phone from Zagreb, one of several international cities he has been crisscrossing through of late.
He, however, admits he is rather happy with the way he has been playing over the last few months. His current Elo rating also reflects that happiness. It is his career-best — 2779.
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He truly seems to have pushed past the disappointments of 2024, which wasn't a great year for him, especially by the high standard he has set himself. Yes, he did play his part in India's stunning triumph at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, but he wasn't as consistent last year as he would have liked.
This year, though, he has been playing quite superb chess, some of the best in his career. He has already won three important classical tournaments, including the prestigious Tata Steel at Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands.
'It was a very important win for me because I was coming from not a great 2024,' says Praggnanandhaa. 'I had finished the previous year missing a medal at the World Rapid Championship; I was so close. I lost a game from a winning position in the penultimate round. So coming from that, starting the year with such a win certainly gives you confidence.'
And Wijk aan Zee was one event he always wanted to win, from the time he was a kid. 'It has so much history, of 87 years, and it was won in the past by several World champions,' he says. 'So winning that tournament was very special for me.'
He followed it up by winning the Superbet Chess Classic in Romania and the UzChess Cup in Uzbekistan. 'Tashkent was special because I wasn't thinking about winning it till the last couple of rounds,' he reveals. 'I was one and a half points behind the leader, and it didn't look like I had much of a chance, but things went my way. I managed to take my chances, against Arjun and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, two of the strongest players in the world right now. Then suddenly, I was in the tiebreakers, and I won.'
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In Romania, too, it was through the tiebreakers that he emerged as the champion, overcoming challenges from Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. And it was his maiden title on the Grand Chess Tour.
'Yes, this is one of the best phases of my career,' says Praggnanandhaa. 'I have tried to change a few things about my game, and they have gone my way. I am much more confident and I push myself more in those critical games.'
Handling time pressure
He is also happy with the way he has handled the tiebreakers. 'I needed to push myself in those games and I was able to do that,' he says. 'They are blitz games and they go down to these few seconds, which can go any way. I did need some luck in some of those games, but pushing myself certainly helped.'
He is hoping to continue his form for the rest of the year, which has many major tournaments coming up, including the FIDE Grand Swiss, the Sinquefield Cup and the World Cup, which India will host.
'It is nice that the World Cup is being held in India,' he says. 'It will be an exciting event as there is a lot of interest in India in chess, and people can get to watch such a big tournament. And I am also excited to play the World Cup in India.'
Praggnanandhaa is, of course, not going to be the only serious contender from India. He says being part of a group of strong Indian players definitely helps.
'I was following Gukesh's World Championship match in Singapore and his victory over Ding Liren was exciting,' he says. 'Arjun crossing the 2800 mark in Elo rating was also inspiring. With our performances, we all motivate each other. And it is nice to see other young Indian players are also doing well. Nihal Sarin is now playing more classical events, and he is winning tournaments too. And there is Aravindh Chithambaram, too.'
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Gukesh, Nihal, Arjun and Praggnanandhaa have benefited from significant support from corporates. 'Sponsorship is very important,' he says. 'You have to travel a lot for tournaments, and training, too. And these things are not easy, and are expensive.
'For instance, when I prepared for the Candidates tournament, I needed to have a team and have training camps in person. All that requires financial support. I have been fortunate that Adani Group has been supporting me in a huge way. And they were there even when I was not having a good time last year. They were there supporting me throughout.'
He is encouraged by the fact that more corporates in India are investing in chess. 'And we need more strong events like the Chennai Grandmasters,' he says. 'I don't mind playing anywhere but playing in India is always special to me.'
Praggnanandhaa is also happy to find chess becoming even more mainstream. He will feature in the Esports World Cup, where chess will make its debut on July 29. He has joined Team Liquid, which boasts World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and No. 3 Fabiano Caruana.
The Magnus effect
He says he is really glad to be part of that team. Carlsen, the five-time World champion from Norway, has often spoken highly of him, and the Indian has scored some memorable wins against the all-time great over the last few years.
Last week in Las Vegas, in fact, he beat Carlsen twice inside four days at the Freestyle Grand Slam. During the live stream of that event, Carlsen's wife Ella Victoria made an interesting remark while talking about Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Arjun. 'Magnus did say that Pragg plays the most similar to him,' she said.
High praise indeed.