R Praggnanandhaa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids R Praggnanandhaa |
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Praggnanandhaa in 2024
|
|
| Full name | Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa |
| Country | India |
| Born | 10 August 2005 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Title | Grandmaster (2018) |
| FIDE rating | 2608 (June 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2757 (July 2024) |
| Peak ranking | No. 8 (July 2024) |
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (born August 10, 2005), often called Pragg, is a super talented chess grandmaster from India. He is one of the top chess players in the world.
Praggnanandhaa and his older sister, Vaishali, are the first brother and sister in history to both become Grandmasters. They are also the first brother and sister to qualify for the very important Candidates Tournament.
Contents
About Pragg's Life
.jpg)
Praggnanandhaa was born in Chennai, a city in Tamil Nadu, India. His birthday is August 10, 2005. His family speaks Telugu.
His father, Rameshbabu, works at a bank. His mother, Nagalakshmi, often travels with Pragg to his chess tournaments. His elder sister, Vaishali, is also a chess Grandmaster.
When he's not playing chess, Pragg likes to play table tennis. He also enjoys watching cricket.
Pragg's Chess Journey
Starting Out (2013-2017)
Praggnanandhaa started playing chess at a very young age. In 2013, when he was just 8 years old, he won the World Youth Chess Championship for his age group. This win earned him the title of FIDE Master. He won the under-10 title in 2015.
In 2016, Pragg made history. He became the youngest international master ever. He was only 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days old. He then worked towards becoming a Grandmaster. He got his first Grandmaster "norm" in November 2017.
Becoming a Grandmaster (2018)
Praggnanandhaa earned his second Grandmaster norm in April 2018. Then, on June 23, 2018, he got his third and final norm. This made him a Grandmaster at 12 years, 10 months, and 13 days old.
At that time, he was the second-youngest person ever to become a Grandmaster. Only Sergey Karjakin was younger. Pragg is now the sixth-youngest Grandmaster in history.
In 2018, Pragg played a special match against Wesley So in Spain. He won one game against So, but eventually lost the match.
Big Wins (2019)
In July 2019, Pragg won the Xtracon Chess Open in Denmark. He scored an amazing 8½ out of 10 points. Later that year, on October 12, 2019, he won the World Youth Championships in the Under-18 section.
In December 2019, he reached a chess rating of 2600. He was the second-youngest player to ever reach this high rating. He was 14 years, 3 months, and 24 days old.
Online Success (2021)
In April 2021, Pragg won the Polgar Challenge. This was an online chess event for young talents. His win helped him qualify for the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
During this tour, he played against some of the world's best players. He even had a draw against the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen. Pragg also played in the Chess World Cup 2021. He reached the fourth round before being eliminated.
Beating the World Champion (2022)
Praggnanandhaa played in the Masters section of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022. He won games against strong players like Andrey Esipenko.
He was also part of the India-2 team at the 44th Chess Olympiad. His team won the bronze medal.
On February 20, 2022, Pragg made headlines. He became only the third Indian player to beat World Champion Magnus Carlsen in any type of game. This happened in an online rapid tournament. He beat Carlsen again in May 2022 and three times in August 2022.
World Cup Finalist (2023)
In January 2023, Pragg played in the Tata Steel Chess Masters 2023. He defeated Ding Liren, who was a 2800-rated Grandmaster and later became the World Champion. This was a big win for Pragg.
At the Chess World Cup 2023, 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa became the youngest player ever to reach the final. He beat Fabiano Caruana in the semi-finals. He was also the second Indian player, after Viswanathan Anand, to reach the Chess World Cup final.
In the final, he played against former World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Pragg lost in the tie-breaks, finishing in second place. But by reaching the final, he qualified for the important 2024 Candidates Tournament.
Recent Achievements (2024)
Praggnanandhaa competed in the 2024 Candidates Tournament. He finished 5th out of 8 players. In June 2024, at the Norway Chess tournament, he defeated Magnus Carlsen in a classical game for the first time.
At the 45th Chess Olympiad in September 2024, Pragg and his sister Vaishali both won gold medals. Pragg's team won in the Open section, and Vaishali's team won in the Women's section.
Awards and Recognition
National Awards
- Arjuna Award: 2022 (This is a major sports award in India.)
Other Awards
- CNN-News18 Indian of the Year (Sports): 2023
See also
In Spanish: Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa para niños
- Chess in India
- List of Indian chess players
- List of chess grandmasters
