Cine Fellows

Name	Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
Age/DOB	19 (August 10, 2005)
Known For	Indian Chess Grandmaster
Marital Status	Single
Family	Father: Rameshbabu Mother: Nagalakshmi Sister: R Vaishali
Education	High School Student
Native	Padi, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

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Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is a remarkable chess talent from India. He ranks as the second-youngest individual to earn the title of grandmaster, following Sergey Karjakin. Praggnanandhaa secured victory in the ninth round of the KiiT International Chess Festival in Bhubaneswar, India, and achieved his third International Master norm (after norms in Cannes and Moscow). He currently holds a FIDE rating of 2746.

On September 22, 2024, he and his sister claimed their first gold medal at the 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad in Hungary, marking a historic moment as the first brother-sister duo to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. In the 2024 Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, he faced India’s top-ranked player Arjun which ended in a draw on the first day.

Did You Know?

• Praggnanandhaa finished in second place at the 2022 FTX Crypto Cup, earning a prize of $37,500.
• Praggnanandha is the second-youngest player to achieve a 2600 rating at the age of 14 years.
• In 2022, he prevailed over World Champion Magnus Carlsen in three different tournaments.
• He is the third Indian grandmaster to defeat Magnus Carlsen following the legendary Vishwanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna. Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar congratulated Praggnanandhaa on social media for this achievement.
• His elder sister, Vaishali Rameshbabu, is also a two-time youth chess champion.
• In 2013, he won the World Youth Chess Championship in the Under-8 category followed by a victory in the Under-10 category two years later.
• In 2016, the talented boy became the youngest International Master in history, at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days.
• He also achieved his third and final GM norm at the Gredine Open in Urtijëi on 23 June 2018. In that, he defeated Luca Moroni in the eighth round marking him the second-youngest person ever to achieve the status of grandmaster.
• In 2017, Praggnanandhaa earned his first grandmaster title by finishing fourth at the World Junior Chess Championship with 8 points. He secured his second norm on April 17, 2018, at the Heraklion Fischer Memorial GM Norm tournament in Greece.
• Praggnanandhaa faced World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the first game of the FIDE World Cup on August 22, 2023, resulting in a draw after 35 moves. However, he lost to Carlsen on August 24, finishing as the runner-up in the 2023 World Cup.
• In the 2020 Online Chess Olympiad, he significantly contributed to the Indian team’s success, helping them secure the top position in Pool A with 17 points and 39.5 board points, defeating China in the final preliminary round.
• Praggnanandhaa enjoys playing table tennis and watching cricket in his spare time.

Awards

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