Chess: Praggnanandhaa surpasses Anand to become India No. 1 after beating world champion Ding Liren

Beating reigning world champion Ding Liren at the Tata Steel masters in Wijk aan Zee, the 18-year-old chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa became the No. 1-ranked Indian player for the first time in his career. Praggnanandhaa achieved the feat on Tuesday (Jan 16) after going past Liren in the Tata Steel masters being held in the Netherlands. With this, Praggananadhaa has gone past his idol Viswanathan Anand in the liveclassical chess rankings.

It is to be noted that the Pragganandhaa moved up by two spots to 11th overall with 2748.3 rating points, 0.3 more than the Indian legend. In addition, the youngster is now only the second from his country, after Anand, to beat a reigning world champion in classical chess. Thus, Pragganandhaa has once again made heads turn after an impressive win over Liren.

Playing with the black pieces, Praggnanandhaa gained an early advantage in the contest and never conceded it. He dictated terms to go past the reigning champion in the match. His win over Liren also became his first in four rounds after starting the event with three draws. Thus, the young Indian chess prodigy continues to climb up the ladder in his short career so far,having beaten some elite players already.

Taking cognizance of his latest feat, legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to his official account on X, formerly Twitter, and congratulated the young wonder boy. Tendulkar wrote, on Wednesday (Jan 17), "Big cheers to @rpraggnachess for this remarkable triumph against World Champion, Ding Liren. At the young age of 18, you haven't just dominated the game but also risen to become India's top-rated player."

Here is the post:

Big cheers to @rpraggnachess for this remarkable triumph against World Champion, Ding Liren. At the young age of 18, you haven’t just dominated the game but also risen to become India's top-rated player.
Best wishes for your upcoming challenges. Continue to bring glory to India… pic.twitter.com/W7NAqSYnDX — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 17, 2024

Praggnanandhaa's rise has been a huge talking point for quite some time. He wrapped up last year by becomingthe top-ranked Indian player after makinga mark in the 2023 FIDE World Cup, finishing as the runner-up. In the final, he lost to Magnus Carlsen but gave him a tough run.