High praise for all the right moves

NEW DELHI • Indian teenage chess grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won praise yesterday for a stunning victory over world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in an online championship.

Praggnanandhaa, 16, who in 2016 became the youngest international master in history at age 10, beat the Norwegian late on Monday at the Airthings Masters rapid chess tournament.

"It's about time to go to bed as I don't think I will have dinner at 2.30 in the morning," a visibly calm Praggnanandhaa said after the 39-move victory playing black.

Others have beaten Carlsen - including Indians Viswanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna - but Praggnanandhaa is the youngest since the 31-year-old became world champion in 2013.

Anand, a five-time world champion and acclaimed as the greatest chess player India has produced, tweeted: "Always proud of our talents! Very good day for @rpragchess."

Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar also joined in the praise for Praggnanandhaa, widely regarded as a future world title challenger.

"What a wonderful feeling it must be for Pragg. All of 16, and to have beaten the experienced & decorated Magnus Carlsen, and that too while playing black, is magical!" Tendulkar wrote on Twitter.

"Best wishes on a long & successful chess career ahead. You've made India proud!"

To which Praggnanandhaa replied: "Thank you very much sir! It means a lot coming from you!!"

Born in Chennai, the teenager is the sibling of renowned Indian chess player Vaishali Rameshbabu, who become a woman grandmaster in 2018.

He is the fifth-youngest player - at 12 years, 10 months and 13 days - after Abhimanyu Mishra, Gukesh D., Sergey Karjakin and Javokhir Sindarovt to achieve the title of grandmaster.

He won the World Youth Chess Championship Under-8 title in 2013 when he was just seven.

Carlsen appeared to blunder in the Champions Chess Tour event, which had a total prize pool of over US$1.5 million (S$2 million).

On Monday, he had said he was still feeling the after-effects of a recent coronavirus infection.

"It was better today, but the first couple of days, I was feeling like I am okay but I don't have any energy and it was kind of hard to focus," Carlsen said.

He won his fifth straight world chess title in December, overcoming Ian Nepomniachtchi in a contest that saw the Russian lose his nerve after losing an epic eight-hour game, the longest ever played at a world championship.

Praggnanandhaa's victory follows an underwhelming performance in the tournament where his previous victory came in the eighth round over grandmaster Levon Aronian.

"His results in the past six months (have) swung between extremes," Praggnanandhaa's coach R.B. Ramesh was quoted as saying on ESPN. "The burden of expectation can get to him at times... the fluctuation can be worrying and needs to be stabilised.

"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. This win against Magnus is important.

"Beating one of the strongest players in chess history is a huge moment for him."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE