R Praggnanandhaa: Meet 17-year-old boy who defeated World Chess champion Magnus Carlsen at FTX crypto cup

Young Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa produced a superb performance, winning three straight games including two in the blitz tie-breaks to outwit 5-time world No.1 Magnus Carlsen 4-2 in the final round of the FTX Crypto Cup on Monday. He finished as runner-up in the FTX Crypto Cup, the second major on the Champions Chess Tour.

Commenting on the win Praggnanandhaa's coach R B Ramesh tweeted, "Fantastic finish towards the end! @rpragchess won in blitz tiebreak against Magnus #FTXCryptoCup ! Great defensive skills at crucial junctures, some good opening preparations, some bad decisions, overall very satisfying."

Who is R Praggnanandhaa 

R Praggnanandhaa is just 17 years old. He hails from Chennai and is a student of Velammal school. He has finished his 10th standard.

Praggnanandhaa had won the World Youth Chess Championship Under-8 title in 2013, earning him the title of FIDE Master at the age of 7 and Under- 10 title in 2015.

He earned the international master title at the age of 10, the youngest at the time to do so, and the grandmaster title at age 12, the second-youngest at the time to do so.

He became the third Indian player to win a game against World Champion Magnus Carlsen in any time format, in the online Airthings Masters rapid tournament of the Champions Chess Tour 2022 on 20 February 2022.

FTX Crypto Cup Final placings: 1. Magnus Carlsen 16 match points, 2. R Praggnanandhaa 15, 3. Alireza Firouzja 15, 4. Liem Le 12, 5. Jan-Krzystof Duda 11, 6. Levon Aronian 8, 7. Anish Giri, 8. Hans Niemann 0.