Asian Games 2023 top contenders: R Praggnanandhaa aims for continental glory!

A wonderkid, who took up the sport at the age of four-and-a-half, R Praggnanandhaa has achieved several firsts in his distinguished career thus far.

From qualifying for the Candidates tournament to achieving a magnificent ELO rating at just 14-years-old, the Chennai chess wiz is on the path to chart history.

Hailing from the hotbed of Indian chess in Tamil Nadu, Praggnanandhaa has been making waves since a very young age.

He won the national under-7 title to lay down the marker and has been on the rise ever since. At 10, he was an International Master and two years later, he became a Grandmaster.

Late in 2019, he achieved a ELO rating of 2600 at 14 years and three months and looked to be on the overdrive. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 came as a speed bump.

However, Praggnanandhaa shone in online tournaments and kept getting better.

In 2021, he impressed in the Meltwater Champions Tour, scoring victories over top names like Sergey Karjakin, Teimour Radjabov and drew with Carlsen.

In 2022, his stock rose further when he stunned Carlsen in the Airthings Masters rapid tournament. He became only the third Indian after Anand and P Harikrishna to win a game against the seemingly unbeatable Carlsen.

He has improved leaps and bounds and with the work put in under noted coach R B Ramesh and subsequently with Vishy Anand as his mentor, Praggnanandhaa can only get better, which may not be good news for his rivals.

At just 18-years-old, he is already on the path to greatness and remains one of India’s biggest hopes at Asiad 2023 for a gold medal.

His performance in the FIDE World Cup has turned the spotlight firmly on him even as compatriots like D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi too keep reminding the chess world of their own potential.