The future belongs to R Praggnanandhaa

Despite his loss to Magnus Carlsen in the FIDE World Cup final, Pragg has proved that he is no longer a prodigy but a modern-day chess great in the making.

Indian chess genius R Praggnanandhaa has been making waves for a long time now! Over the course of the last three days, he had an entire nation following the very technical game of chess fervently as a billion people tuned in to watch him in action against the reigning king of the sport Magnus Carlsen in the final of the FIDE World Cup.

His first final adventure may have ended in a heartbreak as five-time world champion Carlsen overpowered him in the tie-breaker in Baku to win the Chess World Cup for the first time in history, but Pragg’s displays throughout the tournament were a sign of his coming of age.

The chess prodigy, who took to the game because his parents wanted him and his sister to wean away from watching too much TV, is now a future great in the making.

Just two weeks on since he turned 18, Pragg already holds the record of becoming the second Indian and the youngest player to feature in the Chess World Cup Final.

In the first 25'+10" game of the tie-breaker, he had been playing with the whites and was prevented from taking too much time by Carlsen before agreeing to a draw in the second, where lack of time came to haunt him again.

With his silver medal finish at the World Cup, the 18-year-old from Chennai has also managed to qualify for the Candidates tournament and has become the third youngest to achieve this feat after the legendary Bobby Fischer and his opponent on Thursday, Magnus Carlsen.

The Chess World Cup has provided the perfect landscape for a remarkable journey undertaken by Pragg, who turned old enough to get a permanent driver’s license during the tournament. He got the better of World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana - two results that stunned the world - on his way to the final.

The 18-year-old is already showing signs that he is the likely successor to the throne left vacated by Viswanathan Anand. Praggnanndhaa took up chess at the age of four and a half and he first made headlines when he became the youngest international master in history at the time, at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days. Pragg achieved the norm of grandmaster at the age of 12, the second-youngest at the time to achieve this monumental feat.

What’s actually impressive is the fact that Praggnanandhaa has faced Carlsen several times before and has a healthy record against him. He made waves after becoming the third Indian following Anand and Pentala Harikrishna to win a game against World Champion Magnus Carlsen, and defeated him in the online Airthings Masters rapid tournament of the Champions Chess Tour 2022.

He managed to get the better of Carlsen once again at the Chessable Masters tournament just three months later. Pragg has also beaten Carlsen thrice in the FTX Crypto Cup 2022, finishing second behind Carlsen in the final standings.

Over the years, his game has improved in leaps and bounds under the watchful eye of his coach RB Ramesh, who was the 10^th GM of India, as well as under the leadership of Anand who serves the role of a mentor. Despite his tremendous achievements already, his family and coach continue to remind him that there is plenty of road ahead of him and he must remain grounded.

Praggnanandhaa also has rising talents like D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi hot on his heels as the post-pandemic chess world in India continues to reveal one gem after another.

The FIDE World Cup could prove to be a watershed moment for the country in the sport and Pragg's showing continues to serve as a reminder that not just the future, but the present also belongs to him!