Indian chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa continues his meteoric rise, defeating the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in a thrilling encounter. This victory has sparked national pride, with industrialist Anand Mahindra Anand Mahindra taking to social media to express his admiration for the young chess player.
Praggnanandhaa, still a teenager, has emerged as a serious challenger to Mr Carlsen’s dominance. Their recent clash was a tense battle of strategies, with neither player able to secure a decisive advantage early on. However, Praggnanandhaa managed to outmanoeuvre the chess maestro, securing a well-deserved win.
Just within reach of the top spot at the 2024 Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz in Warsaw, World Champion Magnus Carlsen faced a setback in Round 11 on Saturday. Their intense encounter stretched to 69 moves, culminating in a queen endgame with Praggnanandhaa holding a crucial pawn advantage. Carlsen finally resigned. Heading into the final round on Sunday, Carlsen trails the current leader, Wei Yi of China, by 2.5 points.
Anand Mahindra, known for his active social media presence and support for Indian talent, took to Twitter to acknowledge Praggnanandhaa’s achievement. He wrote, “Time to brag about Pragg…”
See the post here:
Time to brag about Pragg…
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) May 11, 2024
Since being posted on X, the post has amassed more than 3 lakh views and congratulatory messages from internet users.
A user wrote, “He is genius really. Setting examples.”
Another user commented, “India is full of champions in every field, especially Sports and Music.”
“Gem of India, protect him at all cost,” the third user wrote.
Earlier, Chess legend Gary Kasparov praised young grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, who gave autographs to fans during the Rapid and Blitz tournament, and said the way he was giving signature means “hand doesn’t get sore so quickly”.
Garry Gasparov posted a video on X with the caption: “Smart lad; a fast and short signature means your hand doesn’t get sore so quickly!”
Praggnanandhaa started playing at the tender age of 5 and went on to become India’s youngest and the then world’s second-youngest Grandmaster at age 12 in 2018. He is the fifth-youngest person to achieve the title of Grandmaster after Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Gukesh D and Javokhir Sindarov.
