Indian chess prodigy, Praggnanandhaa, secured a historic victory by defeating reigning World Champion Ding Liren in the fourth round of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee.
Playing with black pieces, Pragg showcased his strategic prowess, gaining an advantage on the board from the start. This victory marked Praggnanandhaa as the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to defeat a reigning world champion in classical chess.
MORE: Who is R Praggnanandha? India's new chess sensation set to take on Magnus Carlsen in World Cup final
Who is India's No 1 in chess?
The triumph not only earned Pragg acclaim but also propelled him to the position of India's top-ranked chess player in FIDE's live ratings. With a rating of 2748.3, he surpassed the legendary Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion, who currently holds a rating of 2748.
Anand had taken over as India No 1 July 1986 at the age of 16. His reign has only briefly broken in that period on the live ratings. In September 2023, D Gukesh had dethroned Anand after 37 years to become India No 1 for some time.
This win was not Pragg's first against Ding Liren at the Tata Steel Chess event. In 2023, on January 17, he had also defeated Ding with black pieces.
"That feels good!" Praggnanandhaa told Chess.com. "I felt I equalized very easily and then somehow things started to go wrong for him. Even after I won the pawn I felt it should be holdable."
International Master Jovanka Houska told the Chess.com website: "The youngster was in full control from start to finish. Strategically, he just simply outplayed the world champion."
How did the other Indian participants perform in the Tata Steel Masters?
In other matches, Gukesh, who had surpassed Anand as India No 1 in FIDE ratings last year, faced a defeat against Anish Giri. Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, the third Indian player, secured a draw against Jorden Van Foreest.
Anish Giri's victory in the tournament propelled him to the top of the leaderboard as the players headed into the first rest day at the Tata Steel Masters chess event. Praggnanandhaa occupied the third position in the standings, while Vidit was seventh, and Gukesh held the tenth spot.
How to watch 2024 Tata Steel Chess Masters from India?
You can watch the Tata Steel Chess Tournament on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on chess.com's Twitch channel and catch all the live broadcasts on YouTube.com/Chess24. The games can also be followed from the Events Page.