Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, one of the country’s youngest bright talents, won the Paracin Open Group A chess tournament title on Saturday, after scoring eight points in nine rounds. Praggnanandhaa remained undefeated and finished half a point ahead of Alexandr Predke, who finished with 7.5 points. This young grandmaster showed incredible form in the tournament, winning the first six games and drawing the seventh. He also recorded victories against Indian WGM Srija Seshadri, Lachezar Yordanov (Bulgaria), Kazybek Nogerbek (Kazakhstan), his compatriot Koustav Chatterjee, Arystanbek Urazayev (Kazakhstan).
The 16-year-old will be considered part of India’s B’ team for the 44th Chess Olympiad to be held in Chennai from July 28. He left the masses amazed with his gameplay and clever moves on the chessboard. Here are five facts you need to know about this young chess grandmaster:
1) Praggnanandhaa started playing chess when he was 5 years old. This chess prodigy has been playing the game since the age of five. He made a lot of progress in the world of chess with the support of his family, who were initially reluctant to get him into the game.
2) Winner of the World Youth Chess Championship in the Under-8 and Under-10 categories, Praggnanandhaa showed immense potential to be a future chess great at a very young age. He won the World Youth Chess Championship in the under-8 category in 2013. This earned him the title of Master of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) at the age of seven. He followed that up with a win in the Under-10 category of the Championship in 2015.
3) The youngest international master in the history of the game Praggnanandhaa, born in Chennai, is the youngest international master in the history of chess. International Master is the title awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for outstanding performance in the game. It is the rank below Grandmaster, the highest title in chess. To obtain this title, a player must reach the established classic or standard FIDE rating of 2400 and earn three international standards in international competition.
Praggnanandhaa achieved this title in 2016 at the age of 10, completing his third and final standard at the KIIT International Open. This, coupled with his 2400 ELO rating, earned him the title. 4) The second youngest grandmaster in chess history in 2018
The 16-year-old is the second-youngest Grandmaster in chess history and also the youngest Indian to win the title. Grandmaster is the highest title obtainable in the game. To earn this title, the player must achieve a classic or established standard FIDE rating of 2,500 and earn three grandmaster standards in international competition. This prodigious talent obtained the title at the age of 12 years, 10 months and 13 days in June 2018 during the 4th Gredine Open in Ortisei, Italy, the second youngest at the time to receive the title. After picking up a win over Grandmaster Moroni Luca Jr in round eight, he earned his GM standard with one round to spare.
Ukrainian Sergey Karjakin is the youngest GM in chess – he achieved this feat in 2002 at 12 years and 7 months. 5) Youngest player to beat reigning multi-world champion Magnus Carlsen
This young chess talent also caused a major upheaval that shook the chess world. He is the youngest player to have beaten the reigning world chess champion on several occasions, Magnus Carlsen. He beat Carlsen in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters in February 2022, which is an online fast-paced chess competition and at the age of 16 became the youngest to defeat Carlsen since being crowned champion in 2013. He also went on to defeat him in the fifth round of the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament three months later. (ANI)
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