India’s teen chess grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is winning widespread praise after becoming the youngest person to beat Magnus Carlsen since the Norwegian player became world champion in 2013.
The big picture: Praggnanandhaa failed to qualify for the Airthings Masters quarterfinals, which began on Wednesday, following his win over Carlsen in the rapid chess tournament. But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “We are all rejoicing on the success of the young genius R Praggnanandhaa.”
- “Proud of his accomplishment of winning against the noted champion Magnus Carlsen. I wish the talented Praggnanandhaa the very best for his future endeavours,” Modi added.
- India’s celebrated retired cricket star Sachin Tendulkar described Praggnanandhaa’s win over Carlsen late on Monday as “magical.” “You’ve made India proud!” Tendulkar added.
What he’s saying: When asked on Chess24 he’d celebrate beating Carsen, Praggnanandhaa said: “I think it’s about just going to bed, because I don’t think I will have dinner at 2:30 in the morning.”
