Smells Like Teen Spirit

At only 16, R. Praggnanandhaa is taking the world of chess by storm

TEEN THE PRODIGY few displayed emotionsafter World beating Magnus No. 1 Carlsen

The world witnessed a rare and somewhat unexpected sight on February 21. Playing at the Airthings Masters, an online rapid chess tournament, Magnus Carlsen sat with his head in his hand. The other half of the screen showed Indian Grandmaster (GM), R. Praggnanandhaa, look expectant. It was a little past 2 am in Chennai when, from the comfort of his home, 16-year-old Praggnanandhaa beat the World No. 1 Norwegian for the first time in his short career. There were few emotions on display at this turning point in his career. He woke up his father, Rameshbabu, to give him the news. After a round of interviews and a text to his coach, GM R.B. Ramesh, he called it a night. “I had analysed my mistakes from previous tournaments and had made some changes. Against Carlsen, I wanted to give my best and didn’t think about the result,” Praggnanandhaa says. In May 2016, a few months before Carlsen picked up his third World Chess Championship crown, Praggnanandhaa had created history of his own. Aged only 10, he had made his third International Master norm to become the youngest International Master (IM) in the world. He has since delivered on his promise. In April itself, he won the Reykjavik Open and finished third at Spain’s La Roda Open. Chess happened to Praggnanandhaa quite by chance. His elder sister, Vaishali, a Woman Grandmaster today, was first introduced to chess by their father, Rameshbabu, to break her habit of watching TV. Initially, Praggnanandhaa observed her, but soon, he was sitting across the board from her. “We played a lot of blitz and bullet chess, mostly for fun. Not much has changed today—sometimes I win and sometimes she wins,” he says. Once the siblings showed an inclination towards the game, Rameshbabu enrolled them at Chess Gurukul, the academy run by R.B. Ramesh in Chennai. They soon started winning local competitions and the family started prioritising chess over everything else. The grades at school mattered little. Family life was put on hold. Soon, mum Nagalakshmi started travelling with her two kids, providing them with home comforts on foreign shores. “My mother accompanies me to tournaments, while my father makes the arrangements like tickets and visas. Their sacrifices have been immense, and they have helped us achieve our goals.” A year after he earned his GM norm in 2018, he won the under-18 youth title in Mumbai. This, he says, was his most cherished win. “When I received the medal, the Indian flag was at the top and the national anthem started playing. It was a goosebumps moment,” he says. A lot has changed for him in recent years. The exposure of travelling the world and competing against big names has transformed the shy boy into an astute teenager. Even his idol, Viswanathan Anand, is now an integral part of his support system: “Anand sir has given me a lot of advice. We’re constantly in touch.”