Praggnanandhaa stuns World Champion Liren; surpasses Anand to become India’s No.1 chess player

“The first time winning against a world champion in classical chess feels good,” Praggnandhaa said.

Chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has secured the top spot among India’s chess players after defeating World Champion Ding Liren in the 2024 Tata Steel Chess Tournament. The 18-year-old surpassed the legendary Viswanathan Anand after beating China’s Liren with the black pieces.

Praggnanandhaa said he was surprised with the outcome as he didn’t expect the world champion to get ousted in such a fashion.

“I felt I equalized very easily and then somehow things started to go wrong for him. Even after I won the pawn I felt it should be holdable,” Praggnanandhaa was quoted as saying.

“I think any day, if you beat such a strong player, it’s always special because it’s not very easy to beat them. The first time winning against a world champion in classical chess feels good,” he added.

The young sensation started playing chess at the age of five and became India’s youngest Grandmaster and the world’s second-youngest at the age of 12 in 2018. He is the fifth-youngest person ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster, following Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Gukesh D, and Javokhir Sindarov. Interestingly, his elder sister, R Vaishali, is also a Grandmaster, making them the world’s first-ever brother-sister GM duo.

In the Masters category, Grandmaster Anish Giri emerged as the sole leader after the first rest day, showcasing exceptional moves that led to his victory over D Gukesh.