R Praggnanandhaa: Decoding his career achievements
What's the story
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa fell short versus world number one, Magnus Carlsen, in the Chess World Cup final.
The two-game classical series ended in a draw before Praggnanandhaa was beaten by Carlsen in the tie-breaker.
The 18-year-old, who defeated Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5 in the semi-final, missed out on becoming the youngest-ever player to win the Chess World Cup.
However, we decode his achievements.
Final
Praggnanandhaa's H2H record versus Carlsen
In February 2022, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest player to defeat Carlsen, the then-world champion. The duo met in a rapid game at the Airthings Masters Rapid Chess tournament.
Earlier this year, Praggnanandhaa stunned the Norwegian at the Chessable Masters Rapid Chess tournament.
Praggnanandhaa was also all over Carlsen at the 2022 FTX Crypto Cup.
Overall in 20 meetings, Carlsen has nine wins (D6 L5).
Career
Who is R Praggnanandhaa?
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, on August 10, 2005.
The Indian teen prodigy shot to fame when he became an International Master at 10. He was the youngest to achieve this feat at that time.
Praggnanandhaa then went the extra mile and became a Grandmaster at 12, the second-youngest to reach this landmark at the time.
Grandmaster
Here's how Praggnanandhaa became a Grandmaster
A player should achieve three or more norms (in events comprising a minimum of 27 games) to become a Grandmaster.
Praggnanandhaa claimed his first norm at the 2017 World Junior Chess Championship.
His second and third norms came at the 2018 Heraklion Fischer Memorial GM norm tournament and the 2018 Gredine Open.
As a result, Praggnanandhaa scripted history to become a Grandmaster.
Information
Fifth-youngest Grandmaster
As mentioned, Praggnanandhaa, in 2018, became the then-second-youngest Grandmaster. Overall, the Indian teenager is the fifth-youngest Grandmaster, after Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Gukesh D, and Javokhir Sindarov.
Achievements
Third-youngest to reach Candidates Tournament
After winning the semi-final, Praggnanandha became the third-youngest player after Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to reach the Candidates Tournament, the final event of the World Chess Championship cycle.
The top three finishers of the Chess World Cup qualify for the Candidates Tournament.
The winner of the Candidates Tournament faces the reigning World Chess Champion (China's Ding Liren) in the championship match.
Achievements
A look at his other notable achievements
Praggnanandhaa made headlines even before achieving the Grandmaster status.
In 2016, he became the youngest International Master, achieving the feat at the age of 10. This title is awarded to chess players who are yet to become Grandmasters.
In 2013, Praggnanandhaa won the World Youth Chess Championships Under-8 at the age of seven. He also won the Under-10 title in 2015.
Winner
Winner of World Youth Chess Championship
In 2019, Praggnanandhaa clinched the World Youth Chess Championship, claiming the coveted gold in the Under-18 Open category in Mumbai.
He managed a cautious draw in the 11th and final round against Valentin Buckels of Germany to top the charts with nine points.
In July 2019, Praggnanandhaa won the Xtracon Chess Open in Denmark, scoring 8½/10 points (+7-0=3).
GM
Praggnanandhaa is the 2nd-youngest Indian to achieve a GM title
In 2018, Praggnanandhaa became the world's second-youngest Grandmaster and the youngest Indian as he achieved this feat at 12 years, 10 months and 13 days.
Praggnanandhaa claimed the title after reaching the final round at the Gredine Open in Italy.
However, Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest-ever Indian player to become a Grandmaster earlier this year, breaking Praggnanandhaa's record. He became India's 59th GM.
Twitter Post
Twitter Post
Praggnanandhaa is the runner-up of the 2023 FIDE World Cup! 🥈
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 24, 2023
Congratulations to the 18-year-old Indian prodigy on an impressive tournament! 👏
On his way to the final, Praggnanandhaa beat, among others, world #2 Hikaru Nakamura and #3 Fabiano Caruana! By winning the silver… pic.twitter.com/zJh9wQv5pS