16-year-old chess prodigy becomes youngest player to beat world champion Magnus Carlsen

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa appeared shocked when he beat Norway’s Magnus Carlsen

Indian chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, poses for a photograph on his arrival at an airport in Chennai (AFP via Getty Images)

A teenage chess prodigy has become the youngest player to defeat world champion Magnus Carlsen.

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 16, is a grandmaster from India. He faced off against Carlsen in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour 2022 online tournament that featured 16 elite players on Monday.

In an interview with Chess24after his 39-move win, Praggnanandhaa said he was “just really happy”, particularly as he was required to stay up late at night in order to participate due to the time difference.

When asked what he would do to celebrate, the teenager said: “I think it’s about just going to bed, because I don’t think I will have dinner at 2.30 in the morning.”

This is the teenager’s first victory against Norway’s Carlsen, making him only the third Indian grandmaster beat him, after Viswanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna.

Anand tweeted: “Always proud of our talents! Very good day for Praggnanandhaa.”

The Indian government’s official Twitter account also congratulated the teenager, adding that it was a “moment of pride and celebrations for India”.

Carlsen, who claimed the world champion title in 2013, made a number of uncharacteristic mistakes during the tournament which ultimately cost him the victory.

The Norwegian grandmaster revealed on Monday that he tested positive for Covid-19 before the tournament began and was still feeling unwell.

He told the International Chess Federation website: “It’s been a little bit better today, but the first couple of days I was feeling like I’m OK, but I didn’t have the energy, which made it hard to focus because ever time I tried to think, I blundered.”

It appeared that Praggnanandhaa was shocked by his own win, as he covered his mouth in surprise when he saw the opportunity to win was in his hands.

Meanwhile, Carlsen logged off immediately after losing the game and appeared “blatantly disheartened” by the loss, according to World Chess.

Praggnanandhaa became the youngest international master in history at the age of 10 in 2016.