Who is Praggnanandhaa?

After defeating world chess champion Magnus Carlsen in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters, India's 16-year-old grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa made history. Celebrities and thought leaders from many walks of life have congratulated the teenager on his victory in the online rapid chess competition.

 His triumph was made all the more emphatic by his match against world champion Carlsen of Norway, who had won three championships in a row. In a demanding game, the 16-year-old manoeuvred black pieces against his 31-year-old opponent. Praggnanandhaa also holds the record for being the fifth-youngest Grandmaster ever.

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Sachin Tendulkar, the cricket legend, congratulated the chess champion on Twitter. "What a wonderful feeling it must be for Pragg. All of 16, and to have beaten the experienced and decorated Magnus Carlsen, and that too, while playing black, is magical! Best wishes on a long and successful chess career ahead. You’ve made made India proud!" Sachin sent out a tweet.

 Soon after, Praggnanandhaa expressed his gratitude and said how much being congratulated by Tendulkar meant to him.

Thank you very much sir! It means a lot coming from you!! https://t.co/NwlZDksfmZ

— Praggnanandhaa (@rpragchess) February 21, 2022

Praggnanandhaa, Who Is He?

He was born Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in Chennai on August 10, 2005, and is the younger brother of notable Indian chess player Vaishali Rameshbabu. After Abhimanyu Mishra, Gukesh D, Sergey Karjakin, and Javokhir Sindarovt, he is the fifth-youngest person to acquire the title of Grandmaster.

 In 2013, Praggnanandhaa won the World Youth Chess Championship under-8. At the age of seven, he won the FIDE Master title, which is an open title between Grandmaster and International Master.

His winning streak continued in 2016 when he became the world's youngest international master at the age of ten years, ten months, and nine days. After Russian chess star Sergey Karjakin, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest Grandmaster two years later, at the age of 12 years, 10 months, and 13 days.

In a tweet, Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion and India's first grandmaster, congratulated Praggnanandhaa on his triumph.

Welcome to the club & congrats Praggnanandhaa!! See u soon in chennai?

— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) June 24, 2018

The teen considers Viswanathan Anand to be his hero.

Away From Social Media

According to an ESPN article, Praggnanadhaa has completely avoided social media. According to his coach, RB Ramesh, this helps to relieve the stress of being monitored.

"The burden of expectation can get to him at times. When he loses, it sometimes affects him more than it should. He's working on it, but he's just 16 and I'm really glad at how he's handled himself against some of the top guys," RB Ramesh was quoted as saying by ESPN.

Shortly after the historic triumph, the 16-year-old stated, "I'm just going to go to bed," when asked about his plans for the celebration.