Latest news with #RPraggnanandhaa
Time of India
a day ago
- Sport
- Time of India
'Totally pointless': Dutch no. 1 Anish Giri reacts after R Praggnanandhaa becomes world no. 1 junior chess player
R Praggnanandhaa and Anish Giri (Agency Photos) D utch No.1 Grandmaster Anish Giri sparked conversation across the chess world on Friday with a tongue-in-cheek reaction to R Praggnanandhaa becoming the new World No.1 junior. 'Chess juniors nowadays have to be at least U16, keeping track of U20 players is totally pointless,' Giri wrote, hinting at how elite young talents are now already competing at the top of the senior world rankings. — anishgiri (@anishgiri) The remark came shortly after 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa's remarkable victory at the UzChess Cup Masters 2025 in Uzbekistan, which propelled him to a live rating of 2778.3 — making him the World No.4 overall and officially India's highest-rated chess player. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! He leapfrogged both World Champion D Gukesh (2776.6) and Arjun Erigaisi (2775.7), reshuffling the Indian chess hierarchy. Praggnanandhaa's road to victory was nothing short of dramatic. Starting the final day behind both Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov, he scored a crucial win over Abdusattorov in the last classical round to force a three-way tie. In the blitz tiebreaks, Praggnanandhaa showed nerves of steel, eventually winning the tournament in the second set of rapid games — his third major classical title of the year. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand applauded the youngster, stating, 'This win seemed the least likely with just two rounds to go… An impressive demonstration of character.' Poll Will Praggnanandhaa become the next World Chess Champion? Yes, definitely! Maybe in the future. No, he won't. Unsure at this moment. With this triumph, Praggnanandhaa adds the UzChess Cup to his 2025 title haul, which already includes victories at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament and the Superbet Classic in Romania. He also recently finished runner-up at the Stepan Avagyan Memorial. While Giri's comment playfully downplays the relevance of junior rankings, Praggnanandhaa's performance makes one thing clear — the future of world chess is already here, and it's thriving in India. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
India No. 1 R Praggnanandhaa responds to Viswanathan Anand after overpowering D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi in live rankings
R Praggnanandhaa clinched the title at the UzChess Cup Masters in dramatic circumstances, and the win saw him become the new India No. 1. Praggnanandhaa is World No. 4 now in the live classical chess rankings, with an Elo rating of 2778.3. He is ahead of reigning world champion D Gukesh, who is fifth with a rating of 1776.6 and Arjun Erigaisi (2775.7) is sixth in the standings. R Praggnanandhaa responded to Viswanathan Anand's special praise. The 19-year-old GM beat Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov, with Black pieces in the final round to win the trophy, and the result saw him better Gukesh and Arjun in the rankings. Five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand reacted to the landmark moment on X, and hailed Praggnanandhaa. He wrote, 'Congrats to @rpraggnachess for winning the Uzbekistan chess Cup. Third major classical victory this year. Of all his wins this year, this one seemed the least likely with just two rounds to go'. 'However he defeated Arjun Erigaisi and today in the crucial match defeated Nodirbek Abdussattorov to tie for first place. In an impressive demonstration of character he won his third tiebreak of the year as well. 'He is deservedly the new number four in the chess world and the highest rated player in India', he further added. Praggnanandhaa responded to Anand's tweet, and remarked that 'this one felt special'. He wrote, 'Thank you so much, @vishy64theking sir! This one felt special, it means a lot coming from you. Grateful always for your support and inspiration!' Norwegian Magnus Carlsen is still with World No. 1, with an Elo rating of 2839.2. American GMs Hikaru Nakamura (2807) and Fabiano Caruana (2784.2) are second and third in the live rankings. Meanwhile, Anand is the ranked 13th and is also the India No. 4, with an Elo rating of 2743. Aravindh Chithambaram is the India No. 5, with an Elo rating of 2724.0.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
R Praggnanandhaa becomes new India No. 1, D Gukesh second in latest live rankings
R Praggnanandhaa's title at the UzChess Cup Masters, saw the 19-year-old become the new India No. 1 in the live classical chess rankings. He defeated Uzbek GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, with Black pieces in the final round to seal the title. R Praggnanandhaa is the new India No. 1 and D Gukesh is second.(Twitter) In the live ratings, Praggnanandhaa is fourth now, with an Elo rating of 2778.3. D Gukesh is fifth with a rating of 1776.6, and Arjun Erigaisi (2775.7) is sixth. Norwegian Magnus Carlsen (2839.2) occupies top spot, followed by American GMs Hikaru Nakamura (2807) and Fabiano Caruana (2784.2). Viswanathan Anand (2743.0) is not in the top-ten, and occupies 13th position in the live rankings, and is India No. 4. Meanwhile, Aravindh Chithambaram (2724.0) is 24th in the live rankings and is India No. 5. Taking to X, Anand hailed the new India No. 1 and wrote, 'Of all his wins this year, this one seemed the least likely with just two rounds to go. However, he defeated Arjun Erigaisi (yesterday) and today in the crucial match defeated Nodirbek Abdussattorov to tie for first place.' 'In an impressive demonstration of character he won his third tiebreak of the year as well. He is deservedly the new number four in the chess world and the highest rated player in India,' he added. Meanwhile, his longtime coach RB Ramesh told The Indian Express, 'Pragg is quite good in attack, but he was playing too solid in 2024. At least that was my impression. We discussed this and talked about being more adventurous, which you can see now.' 'His chess was always quite good. Now he's also been adding new openings and trying a lot more variety of openings in games.' Ramesh also revealed that Vaibhav Suri working as Praggnanandhaa's second has been beneficial. He said, 'Vaibhav has been helping us longer than this year. But we did not want to go public earlier (and reveal his association with Pragg). He has been with us for some time, but only recently he has started accompanying Pragg for tournaments and that has been very helpful.' 'It's good to have someone you know well, who believes in you, travel with you during important tournaments. When you are going through difficult times, it will be easier to believe in ourselves.'
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First Post
21-06-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Challenger to champion: How R Praggnanandhaa learnt to play for victory, not just experience
R Praggnanandhaa emerged as India's leading chess prodigy in 2023 but had a subdued 2024 as world champion D Gukesh took the spotlight. In 2025, however, he's back in form. In an exclusive chat, Praggnanandhaa explains the changes he made to achieve consistent success. read more Before D Gukesh became the youngest chess world champion in 2024, R Praggnanandhaa emerged as India's breakout star in 2023. The then-18-year-old held Magnus Carlsen to two draws in the classical games of the FIDE Chess World Cup . Although he eventually lost to the five-time world champion in the tie-breaks, Praggnanandhaa had already made a significant impact on the global chess stage. Then came 2024. Praggnanandhaa finally secured his first win over Carlsen, the highest-rated chess player of all time, at Norway Chess and also helped India win a historic gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad. But at an individual level, the big trophies were missing. He finished fifth at the Candidates as Gukesh won the tournament at 17 and then went on to beat Ding Liren in December to become the world champion at 18. At the World Rapid Championship, Praggnanandhaa was in joint lead till the penultimate round before a blunder against teenager and eventual winner Volodar Murzin brought everything crashing down for the Indian. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Pure ecstasy and brutal agony, all within the span of a few months. Praggnanandhaa stood at a crossroads. Talent wasn't the issue; the challenge was using it to cross the finish line. Something was off. Something had to change. But what, exactly? That's when Praggnanandhaa turned to his most trusted ally in the chess world: his coach, R Ramesh. 'I think Ramesh knows me the best regarding chess. I've been working with Ramesh for the last 11 years,' Praggnanandhaa told Firstpost. 'We had a camp towards the end of the year. We were discussing all these issues in my game. And then we tried to go into details and try to find what is causing those issues and tried to find a solution to it. 'And I think all this work is paying off. In this regard, I think credit should be given to him.' Mental adjustments make Praggnanandhaa a winner But what was the solution? It was something seemingly minor, yet profound enough to be a life lesson. Praggnanandhaa was already beating top players, including Carlsen, but deep down, even he wasn't entirely sure of what he was capable of. In that camp at the end of 2024, Praggnanandhaa realised the fault was not in his game, but in his thinking. You can't beat the best players in the world if you don't think of yourself as the best. Since then, he has been a different player, winning the prestigious Tata Steel Masters at the start of the 2025 by beating Gukesh in a tie-breaker , clinching the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Chess Classic Romania last month and currently leading the FIDE Circuit 2025 standings, which can earn him a spot in the 2026 Candidates. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I think it's mostly about mental changes, like being more confident in my abilities and trying to be more ambitious in games and not backing down against anyone,' Praggnanandhaa said while explaining what has changed in his game from 2024. 'You know, just fight, fight it out till the end. And as I said, I think once you believe in your abilities, you will fight in every game. Sometimes last year, especially in some tournaments, I was not feeling confident. So I think that was lacking. And once you regain that, you can be more ambitious. And I think now I'm more ambitious and fighting in every game.' A big support in his journey has also been his sponsors, who have made travel and training easy for the teenage chess star. 'Chess is expensive, especially when you travel to Europe for a tournament. You need to have trainers to help you during the tournaments. Apart from the tournament as well,' he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'It's difficult when you prepare for tournaments like the Candidates. This is where the Adani Group, coming in and supporting players, is essential. This happened just before the Candidates, so I could prepare my best. I am also able to train with the best facilities. That's showing in my result. I don't need to worry about anything, just focus on the game and keep improving.' With the key to winning decoded and sponsors onboard, Praggnanandhaa appears to be on the right path — grounded, yet ambitious. The teenager is well aware that Magnus Carlsen and elite players like Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana aren't going anywhere. And the competition is rising back home too, with the likes of D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi. Praggnanandhaa is pleased with the progress he has made, but he knows there's still a long way to go. 'Yeah, I wouldn't really say I've been progressing rapidly,' Praggnanandhaa said. 'There have been some hiccups in between, like last year just didn't go my way. This year has been good for me so far, and I hope to continue that way. If you compare just these six months, then it's been good. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'But if you like, take into account the last year, then I think it's just normal progress and considering our last few months, definitely happy with my games and I want to continue playing this way,' he signed off.
Time of India
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Historic! R Praggnanandhaa surpasses world champion D Gukesh in world chess rankings; all you need to know
R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh (Agency Photo) NEW DELHI: In a major milestone for Indian chess, R Praggnanandhaa has leapfrogged reigning world champion D Gukesh in the live FIDE rankings, marking a significant personal and national achievement. As of Saturday, Praggnanandhaa's live rating climbed to 2777.2, nudging past Gukesh's 2776.6. The 19-year-old prodigy is currently competing in the UzChess Cup Masters in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a prestigious event hosted by the Uzbekistan Chess Federation that's quickly gaining global attention. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! After a draw in the opening round, Praggnanandhaa bounced back in style in Round 2, defeating Uzbekistan's Shamsiddin Vokhidov with the white pieces. World's top 10 in live rankings (Photo: He now leads the tournament standings with 1.5 points, tied with fellow Indian Arjun Erigaisi and others. Praggnanandhaa's rise in the rankings is part of a broader Indian surge in world chess. Poll Do you believe India is experiencing a golden generation in chess? Yes, absolutely Maybe, it's possible No, it's too early to say Recently, India had four players in the global top 10 live ratings — Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Arjun, and the newly crowned Aravindh Chithambaram, who clinched the title at the 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial in Armenia. In that tightly contested event, Aravindh and Praggnanandhaa both scored 6.5/9, but Aravindh claimed the top spot on tie-break. ALSO READ: ' If there were chess tournaments in Bangladesh, why would I come to India?': 80-year-old Rani Hamid The two, who train together under coach RB Ramesh, pushed each other throughout the event. 'It was a good tournament for me,' Praggnanandhaa reflected, 'but I missed that one chance in Round 2... That win would've made the difference.' Despite that, Praggnanandhaa's consistent brilliance and recent form have now elevated him above even the world champion, a remarkable feat for a player still in his teens. With India's young guns dominating international chess and pushing each other to new heights, a golden generation may already be here. Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
