New year, newer records for R Praggnanandhaa. The 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster defeated World Champion Ding Liren at the Tata Steel Masters tournament on Wednesday to oust the legendary Vishwanathan Anand as the top-ranked Indian chess player.
Praggnanandhaa put away China’s Ding Liren, the current world champion, in the 4th round of the Tata Steel Masters tournament which led to the young leapfrogging up the ranks.
After the victory, Praggnanandhaa has 2748.3 points as against 2748 of five-time world champion Anand in the FIDE live ratings.
17-year-old Indian prodigy Praggnanandhaa wins a brilliant endgame against world no. 2 Ding Liren, and the world’s top two chess players have both lost on the same day! https://t.co/HBc1Y1lEoU #c24live #TataSteelChess pic.twitter.com/8PZ61N7T23— chess24.com (@chess24com) January 17, 2023
“I am extremely keen on ensuring that my country does well on the global stage. Whenever I play, my sole aim is to win more laurels for the nation,” said Praggnanandhaa after his victory.
Meanwhile, Dutchman Anish Giri emerge as the sole leader heading into the first rest day, as far as the Masters Group is concerned. Giri’s impressive endgame secured him victory against D Gukesh, solidifying his position at the top. Iranian GM Alireza Firouzja continues to trail closely behind Giri in second place.
It has been a monumental stretch for Indian chess lately and at the forefront was Praggnanandhaa, who become the youngest-ever World Cup finalist, and qualified for the Candidates Tournament, being the second Indian to do so, after Viswanathan Anand.
In 2016, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest International Master at the age of 10 years. He also became the youngest player to defeat current world champion Magnus Carlsen in February 2022 at the age of 16; he then went on to defeat him thrice in six months.
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