Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (born 10 August 2005) is an Indian

chess grandmaster Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally the t ...

. A

chess prodigy Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on a square board consisting of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, referred to ...

, Praggnanandhaa placed second in the 2023 Chess World Cup, and is the only Indian to win the

Tata Steel Chess Tournament The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is an annual chess tournament held in January in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. It was called the Hoogovens Tournament from its creation in 1938 until the sponsor Koninklijke Hoogovens merged with British Ste ...

after

Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster. Anand is a five-time World Chess Champion, a two-time World Rapid Chess Champion, a two-time Chess World Cup Champion and a World Blitz Chess Cup Champion. ...

. He was also part of the Indian team that won the silver medal at the

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

in the men's team competition, and the gold medal in the open section at the

45th Chess Olympiad The 45th Chess Olympiad was an international team chess event organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Budapest, Hungary, from 10 to 23 September 2024. It consisted of two main tournaments—an Open event, enabling participatio ...

in 2024.

Early and personal life

Praggnanandhaa was born to a Tamil-speaking family in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, Tamil Nadu, on 10 August 2005. His father, Rameshbabu, works as a branch manager at

TNSC Bank The Tamil Nadu State Apex Co-operative Bank, also known as TNSC Bank, is an Indian cooperative banking company headquartered in Chennai. It was incorporated in 1905 as an urban cooperative bank. As of 2015, TNSC Bank had 51 branches in Chennai. ...

, and his mother, Nagalakshmi, is a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...

who often accompanies Praggnanandhaa when he travels for tournaments. Praggnanandhaa and his older sister Vaishali are the first brother and sister to earn grandmaster titles, with Praggnanandhaa doing so in 2018 and his sister doing so in 2023. They are also the first brother and sister to qualify for the

Candidates Tournament The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The win ...

. Aside from chess, Praggnanandhaa enjoys playing

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

and watching

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

in his spare time.

Career

20132017

Praggnanandhaa won the

World Youth Chess Championship The World Youth Chess Championship is a FIDE-organized worldwide chess competition for boys and girls under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. History Twelve world champions are crowned every year. Since 2015 (OR 2016), the event has been s ...

Under-8 title in 2013, earning him the title of

FIDE Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

. He won the under-10 title in 2015. In 2016, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest

international master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

in history, at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days. He achieved his first grandmaster

norm Norm, the Norm or NORM may refer to: In academic disciplines * Normativity, phenomenon of designating things as good or bad * Norm (geology), an estimate of the idealised mineral content of a rock * Norm (philosophy), a standard in normative e ...

at the

World Junior Chess Championship The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The idea was the brainchild of William Rits ...

in November 2017, finishing fourth with 8 points.

2018

He gained his second norm at the Heraklion Fischer Memorial GM norm tournament in Greece on 17 April 2018. On 23 June 2018 he achieved his third and final norm at the Gredine Open in

Urtijëi Urtijëi (; ; ) is a town of 4,637 inhabitants in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It occupies the Val Gardena within the Dolomites, a mountain chain that is part of the Alps. Geography Urtijëi borders the following municipalities: Kastelruth, V ...

, Italy, by defeating Luca Moroni in the eighth round to become, at the age of 12 years, 10 months and 13 days, the then second-youngest person ever to achieve the rank of grandmaster (

Sergey Karjakin Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (chess), grandmaster and politician. A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, having qualified for the title a ...

attained the title at 12 years and 7 months). He is the sixth-youngest person ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster (GM), behind

Abhimanyu Mishra Abhimanyu Mishra (born February 5, 2009) is an American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he holds the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, having qualified for the title at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days. Career Mi ...

, Karjakin,

Gukesh Dommaraju Gukesh Dommaraju (born 29 May 2006) is an Indian chess grandmaster and the reigning World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, Gukesh is the youngest undisputed world champion, the youngest player to have surpassed a FIDE rating of 2750, doing s ...

Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş (born 3 June 2011) is a Turkish chess prodigy and grandmaster. He was awarded the International Master title prior to turning 12, becoming the youngest individual from Turkey to achieve this title. In 2024 he became the f ...

, and

Javokhir Sindarov Javokhir Sindarov (; born 8 December 2005)León Masters in Spain for a four-game rapid match against

Wesley So Wesley Barbossa So (born October 9, 1993) is a Filipino and American chess grandmaster, a three-time U.S. Chess Champion, and the first World Fischer Random Chess Champion. He is also a three-time Philippine Chess Champion. On the March 201 ...

. He defeated So in game one, and after three games the score was tied at 1½–1½. In the last game, So defeated Praggnanandhaa, winning the match 2½–1½. In January 2018, Praggnanandhaa tied for third place with GM Alder Escobar Forero and IM Denys Shmelov in the Charlotte Chess Center's Winter 2018 GM Norm Invitational held in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a score of 5.0/9.

2019

In July 2019, Praggnanandhaa won the

Xtracon Chess Open The Xtracon Chess Open (formerly the Politiken Cup) is an international chess tournament and the main feature event of the annual Copenhagen Chess Festival. History Organized by the Copenhagen Chess Federation (KSU), it was originally set up to gi ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, scoring 8½/10 points (+7–0=3). On 12 October 2019, he won the World Youth Championships in the Under-18 section with a score of 9/11. In December 2019, he became the second-youngest person to achieve a rating of 2600. He did this at the age of 14 years, 3 months and 24 days.

2021

In April 2021, Praggnanandhaa won the Polgar Challenge, the first leg (out of four) of the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour, a rapid online event organized by Julius Baer Group and Chess24.com for young talents. He scored 15.5/19, 1.5 points ahead of the next best placed competitors. This win helped him qualify for the next Meltwater Champions Chess Tour on 24 April 2021, where he finished in 10th place with a score of 7/15 (+4-5=6), including wins against

Teimour Radjabov Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov (also spelled Teymur Rajabov; , ; born 12 March 1987) is an Azerbaijani Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. A former child prodigy, he earned the title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster in March 2001 at age 14, ...

Jan-Krzysztof Duda Jan-Krzysztof Duda (; born 26 April 1998) is a Polish Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. A Chess prodigy, prodigy, he achieved the grandmaster title in 2013 at the age of 15 years and . he is ranked No. 1 in Poland and No. 17 in the FIDE w ...

, and Johan-Sebastian Christiansen as well as a draw against World Champion

Magnus Carlsen Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...

. Praggnanandhaa entered the

Chess World Cup 2021 The Chess World Cup 2021 was a 206-player single-elimination chess tournament that took place in Sochi, Russia, beginning 12 July and ending 6 August 2021. It was the 9th edition of the Chess World Cup. The winner of this tournament was the Polish ...

as the 90th seed. He defeated GM

Gabriel Sargissian Gabriel Eduardi Sargissian (, ''Gabriel Eduardi Sargsyan''; born 3 September 1983) is an Armenian chess grandmaster. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Armenian team at the Chess Olympiads in 2006, 2008 and 2012 and at the World Team Che ...

2–0 in round 2, and advanced to round 4 after defeating GM

Michał Krasenkow Michał Krasenkow (born 14 November 1963) is a Polish chess grandmaster, chess trainer and writer. He is one of the strongest Polish chess players since World War II. His playing style is aggressive and he has won many "best game" awards. Lif ...

in the rapid tiebreaks in round 3. He was eliminated in round four by

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster who is a former World Blitz Chess Championship, World Blitz Champion. With a peak Elo rating system, ra ...

2022

Praggnanandhaa played in the Masters section of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022, winning games against

Andrey Esipenko Andrey Evgenyevich Esipenko (; born 22 March 2002) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He won the European Youth Chess Championship, European U10 Chess Championship in 2012, and both the European Youth Chess Championship, Europea ...

Vidit Gujrathi Vidit Gujrathi (born 24 October 1994) is an Indian chess grandmaster. Gujrathi attained the title of grandmaster in January 2013, becoming the 30th player from India to do so. He is the fourth Indian player to have crossed the Elo rating of 27 ...

and

Nils Grandelius Nils Axel Grandelius (born 3 June 1993) is a Swedish chess grandmaster. He is the top ranked player of Sweden. Chess career FIDE awarded him the titles FIDE Master, in 2007, International Master, in 2008, and Grandmaster in 2010. In 2008, Gra ...

, finishing in 12th place with a final score of 5½. He was part of India-2 team in the

44th Chess Olympiad The 44th Chess Olympiad was an international team chess event organised by the FIDE, International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Chennai, India, from 28 July to 10 August 2022. It consisted of two main tournaments—an Open event, enabling partic ...

, which went on to finish third and win the bronze medal. On 20 February 2022, he became the third Indian player (after

Anand Anand may refer to: People * Anand (name), a surname and given name (including a list of people with the name) * Anand (clan), a clan of an Indian caste * Anand (actor), Indian actor * Anand (Maoist), Indian communist * Anand (writer) (born 1936 ...

and Harikrishna) to win a game against World Champion

in any time format, in the online ''Airthings Masters'' rapid tournament of the Champions Chess Tour 2022, with a 15+10 time control. The record has since broken by

Gukesh D Gukesh Dommaraju (born 29 May 2006) is an Indian chess grandmaster and the reigning World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, Gukesh is the youngest undisputed world champion, the youngest player to have surpassed a FIDE rating of 2750, doing so ...

, on 16 October 2022. At the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament in May 2022, he defeated Carlsen once again, his second win over him in three months, and advanced to the finals. He also defeated Carlsen three times in the FTX Crypto Cup 2022, finishing second behind Carlsen in the final standings.

2023

In January 2023, Praggnanandhaa played in the Tata Steel Chess Masters 2023. He defeated a 2800-rated grandmaster,

Ding Liren Ding Liren ( zh, c=丁立人; born 24October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster who was the 17th World Chess Champion from 2023–24. He is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion, was a member of the Chinese chess teams that won the Chess ...

, his first time playing, so in a classical game. He ended the tournament in 9th place with a score of 6/13. In the World Cup 2023, 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa became the world's youngest player ever to reach the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

final, defeating

Fabiano Caruana Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an Italian and American chess grandmaster who is the reigning four-time United States Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2844, Caruana is the third-highest-rated player in history. Born in Mia ...

in tie-breaks in the semi-final. He also became the second Indian after

to reach the final in Chess World Cup history. His play against former classical World Chess Champion

in the final resulted in a defeat in the rapid tie-breaks, securing him second place and qualification for the

2024 Candidates Tournament The 2024 Candidates Tournament was an eight-player chess tournament, held to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2024. The tournament took place at The Great Hall in Toronto, Canada, from April 3–22, 2024. The event was ...

. He was seconded during that tournament by Russian grandmaster

Peter Svidler Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (; born 17 June 1976), commonly known as Peter Svidler, is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and commentator who is an eight-time Russian Chess Champion. Svidler has competed in three World Championshi ...

2024

Praggnanandhaa placed 5th out of 8 participants in the

, getting 7 points out of 14. Additionally, in the 3rd round of the Norway Chess 2024 tournament, he defeated Magnus Carlsen for the first time in a classical 'over the board' match. At the

in September 2024, Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali were part of the Indian teams which went on to win gold medals in the Open section and Women's section respectively.

2025

Praggnanandhaa won the

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 was the 87th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, annual chess tournament held in Wijk aan Zee. It was held from 17 January to 2 February 2025. The field of 14 players in the Masters section included the ...

, Masters section after defeating

in the playoff. He finished fourth in the

Prague Chess Festival The Prague International Chess Festival, abbreviated as PICF, is an annual chess tournament that takes place in Prague, Czech Republic, since 2019. It consists of several separate groups including Masters, Challengers, and Futures (organized und ...

2025, and 3rd place in the

Grand Chess Tour The Grand Chess Tour (GCT) is a circuit of chess tournaments in which players compete for multiple prize pools. The tournaments, which vary from year to year, have included Norway Chess, the Sinquefield Cup, and the London Chess Classic. Histo ...

Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz 2025. In May 2025, Praggnanandhaa won the

Superbet Chess Classic Romania, scoring 5.5/9, after winning a playoff against

and

Alireza Firouzja Alireza Firouzja (, ; born 18 June 2003) is an Iranian and French Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Firouzja is the youngest player to have surpassed a FIDE Elo rating system, rating of 2800, beating the previous record set by Magnus Carls ...

. In June 2025, he scored 6.5/9 and finished 2nd in the Stepan Avagyan Memorial.

Awards and recognition

National

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

: 2022

Others

* CNN-News18 Indian of the Year (Sports): 2023

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Praggnanandhaa, R 2005 births Living people Tamil sportspeople Chess Grandmasters World Youth Chess Champions Chess Olympiad competitors Recipients of the Arjuna Award Chess players at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in chess Asian Games silver medalists for India Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games Sportspeople from Chennai 21st-century Indian chess players 21st-century Indian people