R Praggnanandhaa is now officially India’s #1 chess player
Praggnanandhaa emerged victorious against the reigning World Champion Ding Liren.
In a remarkable achievement, Indian teenager Praggnanandhaa emerged victorious against the reigning World Champion Ding Liren in a fourth-round clash at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee on Tuesday. This win propelled Praggnanandhaa to become the top-ranked chess player in India, surpassing five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, with a FIDE live rating of 2748.3, while Anand is at 2748 (FIDE discloses the published ratings at the start of each month).
This victory marked Praggnanandhaa as the second Indian, after Anand, to defeat a reigning world champion in classical chess. Playing with the black pieces, Praggnanandhaa had the advantage on the board from the beginning. This win was his first in four rounds at the Tata Steel chess event this year, following three draws. Interestingly, Praggnanandhaa had previously defeated Ding at the same event in 2023, on January 17, when Ding was the World No. 2 and preparing for the Candidates tournament.
Ding Liren is participating in Wijk aan Zee after securing the world championship crown last year by defeating Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi. Meanwhile, Gukesh, who became the first Indian to surpass Anand as India’s No. 1 in FIDE published ratings last year, lost his match against Anish Giri. Gukesh had managed to secure a spot at the Candidates via the ratings route, edging past Anish in the process. The third Indian player in the event, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, played to a draw against Jorden Van Foreest.
With his victory, Giri now leads the standings heading into the first rest day at the Tata Steel Masters chess event, with Praggnanandhaa in third place, Vidit in seventh, and Gukesh in the 10th spot.
