New Delhi (AFP)
16-year-old Indian grandmaster Ramischabu Prajnananda received a flurry of praise on Tuesday following his resounding victory over world number one Sven Magnus Carlsen in an online tournament.
The Indian teenager beat the 31-year-old Carlsen in the Earthings Masters Tournament of Speed Chess.
“It’s time to go to bed, I don’t think I can have dinner at 2:30 in the morning,” Pragnananda said curtly following winning the black with 39 moves.
Other players have beaten Magnus Carlsen in the past, including India’s Viswanathan Anand and Bentala Harikrishna, but Bragnananda is the youngest since the Norwegian won the world title in 2013.
The Indian teenager, born in Chennai (formerly Madras) in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, became the youngest international professor in history at the age of 10 in 2016.
Celebrated as the greatest Indian chess player of all time, the five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand tweeted: Always proud of our talents! A very good day for Pragnananda.
Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar has also joined the group of tributes to young Pragnananda, who is widely seen as a future contender for the world title.
Tendulkar wrote on Twitter: “What a great feeling Prague should have. He is only 16 years old, and he has beaten the experienced and award-winning Magnus Carlsen, and what’s more, he played in black, it’s magic,” wishing him “a successful and long career in chess.”
“You make India proud!” he added.
On Monday, Carlsen announced that he had felt the consequences of the “Covid-19” virus that he had recently contracted.
“Today was better,” he said, “but the first two days I was barely feeling good, lacked energy and found it difficult to focus.”
The Norwegian won his fifth consecutive world title last December, when he defeated Russian Ian Nepomniacchi following an epic eight-hour match, the longest in the world championships.
Bragnananda’s victory came following a disappointing performance in the tournament, his latest victory in the eighth round was once morest Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian.
“His results over the past six months have oscillated between two extremes,” Bragnananda’s coach, RB Ramesh, was quoted by the American channel “ESBN” as saying.
“This volatility can be worrying and needs stabilization,” he added. This win over Magnus is significant. Overcoming one of the strongest players in chess history is a big moment for him.
