National Desk, 17th January: Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, the 18-year-old chess prodigy, has claimed the top position among Indian chess players after defeating World Champion Ding Liren at the 2024 Tata Steel Chess tournament.
Surpassing the legendary Viswanathan Anand, Praggnanandhaa expressed surprise at his victory, stating he felt he equalized easily, and things went wrong for his opponent.
The significance of defeating a world champion in classical chess was not lost on him, emphasizing that it feels good.
Praggnanandhaa, who started playing chess at the age of 5, became the second-youngest Grandmaster globally and the youngest in India in 2018 at the age of twelve.
His achievements also include forming the world’s first brother-sister GM team with his older sister, R Vaishali. Grandmaster Anish Giri currently leads the Tata Steel Chess tournament’s Masters division.
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