Indian teenager Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, nicknamed "Prag," achieved a significant upset in the chess world by defeating world champion Magnus Carlsen on Sunday during the Airthings Masters tournament. The 16-year-old stunned Carlsen with his high-level skill, and the reigning champion's attempts to regain control of the match were unsuccessful. With this achievement, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest player to defeat Carlsen since he became world champion in 2013, as reported by CNN.
Praggnanandhaa is now the third Indian chess player to triumph over the Norwegian world champion, following Viswanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna. Expressing his joy over the victory, the Indian chess star said, "I am very happy. All I want right now is to sleep." Praggnanandhaa, who became the youngest international chess master in history in 2016, managed to defeat his seasoned opponent in 39 moves.
Praggnanandhaa's achievement was celebrated by Indians around the world on social media, with five-time world champion Anand tweeting, "Very proud of our talents. It was a very good day for Praggnanandhaa." Additionally, famous cricketer Sachin Tendulkar congratulated "Prag" on his victory, saying, "What a great feeling to defeat a champion like Carlsen at the age of sixteen." Carlsen, for his part, attributed his loss to the lingering effects of COVID-19, which he contracted days before the tournament, stating, "I didn’t have the energy, which made it difficult to focus. Every time I tried to think, I made mistakes. My performance was very poor."
