CHENNAI: Youngest International Master. Second-youngest Grandmaster at that time. U-8 and U-10 world champion. Meet Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who keeps breaking new ground. On Saturday, he added another feather to his cap, winning the U-18 Worlds title.
The 14-year-old turned in a dominant performance in Mumbai to seal the title (seven wins, four draws). He had a whopping performance rating of 2,713, and gained 19 rating points from his win.
After becoming one of the youngest GMs in 2018, Praggnanandhaa showed why he is special. He gave former World No 2 Wesley So a run for his money in Leon Rapid, taking a game of him before losing narrowly in the semis (1.5-2.5).
Achieving big at a young age helped Praggnanandhaa get sponsors, invitation for strong tournaments, besides being able to concentrate fully on the game. Former World Championship challenger Sergey Karjakin, who won his mini-match with the Indian at Aeroflot Blitz in 2018, had a positive take on the prodigy: “Praggnanandhaa is a great talent and has a bright future in chess.”
Such is his talent that Viswanathan Anand makes it a point to sit down with him whenever it’s possible, giving him insights on the game. Coach RB Ramesh deserves full credit for his meteoric rise.
What makes Praggnanandhaa a formidable player? Firstly, he has good imagination and visualisation skills. Along with that, the Chennaiite has one of the best techniques among juniors. Once he gets an advantage, he’s good at converting it into a full point. His victories over P Iniyan and Paulius Pultinevicius en route his current title win demonstrated his Pitbull technique.
After becoming GM, Praggnanandhaa was not getting the best of results for almost a year. However, he turned it around a few months ago, winning Xtracon Open in Helsingor (Denmark). The U-18 world crown is his second title in 2019.
He recently had the good fortune of working with former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, along with five other Indians. Training under the Russian should have given Praggnanandhaa an idea of how a world-class player works, besides polishing some of his skills.
Praggnanandhaa will be eyeing the World Junior title — the event begins in New Delhi on Tuesday. It will not be a surprise if he adds another piece of silverware to his cabinet.