16-yr-old Indian Outwits King – Carlsen in 39 Steps
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Unknown commodity in Indian chess circles
Sixteen-year-old R Praggnandhaa isn’t an unknown commodity in Indian chess circles. But what he did in the early hours of Monday made the world of 64 squares sit up and take note.
The young GM from Chennai became only the third Indian to beat world champ Magnus Carlsen after the legendary Carlsen after the legendary Viswanathan Anand and top star P Hari Krishna. Praggu’s win in 39 moves came in the Air things Masters, the opening leg of the Champions Chess Tour, which is a 16-player online rapid competition.
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Beating Magnus gives confidence to any player and I am no different
The contest turned in Praggu’s favor when the Norwegian – playing with white committed an error in the 32nd move. The chess engines immediately showed a huge advantage in black’s favor. Praggu made sure he capitalized on Carsen’s mistake and walked away with a victory seven moves later.
The win made waves in the chess world but the Indian prodigy, who has been a world champion in the Under-8 and Under-18 categories, kept a calm front. There was, of course, a sense of happiness in his voice when TOI caught up with him. “Definitely on of the best wins till date for me. Beating Magnus gives confidence to any player and I am no different,” Praggu said.
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He began the day by defeating the seasoned Levon Aronian
An advantage in the endgame against Magnus notwithstanding. Praggu revealed how he didn’t want to let go of the advantage and was just very happy that the result went in may favour,” he added.
Carlsen wasn’t the only top player Praggu aced on Sunday. He began the day by defeating the seasoned Levon Aronian, currently ranked sixth in the world among active players, in an encounter that lasted 80 moves. He lost to Shahkriyar Mamedyarov before drawing Anish Giri. R B Ramesh, Praggu’s long-time coach, feels the win over Levon got the ball rolling for the youngster. “Praggu absolutely crushed Levon. It was a match where Praggu was winning throughout and took the confidence forward, “Ramesh mentioned.
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Praggu’s took a lot of difficult blows at the Tata Steel Masters at Wijk Aan Zee last month
For those tracking Praggu for years, his win against Carlsen doesn’t come as a surprise. From the time he first caught the attention of many with his U-8 title at the World Youth Championships in 2013 to becoming a Grandmaster five years later, Praggu’s progress has been steady.
For Anand, Praggu’s took a lot of difficult blows at the Tata Steel Masters at Wijk Aan Zee last month and still beat Andrey Esipenko on the final day of the tournament. Things were difficult for his on Day 1 of the Airthings Masters, but he came back strongly,” Anand said.
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I have been sleeping late for the last few days
With matches in the tournament starting well past 10 pm Indian time, altering his sleep cycle also became part of Praggu’s preparation.
“I have been sleeping late for the last few days just to get used to these timings. It has definitely, helped because I am a bit fresh,” said Praggu, hoping to make such feats more of habit than a flash in the pan.
Source: TOI
