R Praggnanandhaa: Here’s All You Need To Know About India’s Chess Star Who Will Play In World Cup Final vs Magnus Carlsen

Rameshbabu Pragganandhaa, better known as R Praggnanandhaa, eyes history as he takes on world No.1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the final of the Chess World Cup on Tuesday. Praggnanandhaa, who was born on August 10, 2005 in Chennai, defeated world No.3 Fabiano Caruana of the USA in the semi-final on Monday. The 18-year-old edged out Caruana following a 1-1 tie in their two-game classical series, to set up a captivating final against Carlsen. He is the first Indian in 21 years to reach the final of the Chess World Cup since Viswanathan Anand, who won the world title 2000 and 2002.

As Praggnanandhaa chases history, here’s all you need to know about the young Indian Grandmaster:

R Praggnanandhaa was born on August 10, 2005 in Chennai. He started playing chess at the age of 5. He hails from a Tamil family. He completed high school from Chennai’s Velammal Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

At 10 years, 10 months and 19 days, Praggnanandhaa is the youngest international master in the history of the sport. He attained the Grandmaster norm at the age of 12 years, 10 months and 13 days, making him the fifth youngest to achieve the feat.

Praggnanandhaa is the youngest Indian to reach the World Cup final. Last year, Praggnanandhaa was honoured with the Arjuna Award in Novemeber.

He has a sister, Vaishali, who is also a chess player. His father, Rameshbabu, works as a branch manager at TNSC Bank, and his mother, Nagalakshmi, is a homemaker.

Praggnanandhaa won the World Youth Chess Championship Under-8 title in 2013, as well as the Under-10 title in 2015.