A 16-year-old chess prodigy from India becomes youngest to beat world champion
Teen chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 16, scored a major upset over the weekend, becoming the youngest person to beat the world's No. 1 player, Magnus Carlsen.
Praggnanandhaa, who is often referred to as Pragg, isn't just any chess player. He became a grandmaster, the highest title a chess player can attain, when he was just 10. He's the youngest international master ever and fourth-youngest grandmaster. According to Chess.com, he is ranked No. 165 in the world.
But things weren't looking great for Praggnanandhaa leading up to his match against Carlsen. On Day One of the Airthings Masters rapid chess tournament, Praggnanandhaa finished 15th out of 16 players with three straight losses.
What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
But the tide turned in Praggnanandhaa's match against Carlsen as the world champion appeared to make numerous mistakes and resigned after 39 moves. Praggnanandhaa looked shocked after winning the match.
Not only was it the first time the teen had ever beaten Carlsen, but he became the youngest person ever to beat the chess player who has been world champion since 2013.
"I'm just really happy," Praggnanandhaa said in a post-match interview. When asked what he would do to celebrate, he said he was "just going to bed." He has to stay up late to play in the online tournament.
Carlsen's loss was one of several over the first four days of the opening round. He told the International Chess Federation he is still suffering from the effects of COVID-19,
"The first couple of days I was feeling like I'm OK, but I didn't have the energy, which made it hard to focus because every time I tried to think, I blundered. It was a little bit better today, but still pretty bad," he said Monday.
After four days of the preliminary round, Praggnanandhaa finished with five wins, four draws and six losses. He finished in 11th place, eliminating him from the top eight who advance to the knockout round. Carlsen made it in the knockout round with a second-place finish.
Still, the prodigy's mentor, Viswanathan Anand, is proud of what Praggnanandhaa has accomplished.
"What I really admire about him is that he takes the blows and does it his way, as the song goes," Anand told ESPN. "His fighting spirit is really something."
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.