'Rare gem in the chess world': Praggnanandhaa gets big welcome from Magnus Carlsen as he joins Team Liquid

Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has joined Team Liquid ahead of the Esports World Cup. The announcement was made on social media on Saturday, and it has created a big buzz in the chess world.

The 19-year-old from Chennai will join big names like Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, who were signed earlier this year. Team Liquid shared the news on X (formerly Twitter) with a message:

“Before chess conquered the world, it was born in India. For centuries, India has shaped the game. Now, it shapes the future. Praggnanandhaa R. carries that legacy forward — and today, he joins ours. Welcome to Team Liquid. The future of chess starts here. Pragg.”

Carlsen and Nakamura welcome Pragg

World No. 1 and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen welcomed Praggnanandhaa with a funny and warm message. “Whole lot of letters in Praggnanandhaa, but no «I». Welcome to the team,” Carlsen wrote, resharing his team’s post.

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Whole lot of letters in Praggnanandhaa, but no «I»

Welcome to the team🤝 https://t.co/iC7ZARpuo7

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) June 28, 2025

American GM Hikaru Nakamura, who plays for Team Falcons and is the current World No. 2, also praised the young Indian. He replied to Team Liquid’s post saying, “Pragg is a rare gem in the chess world.”

Massive congrats to @rpraggnachess and @TeamLiquid - Pragg is a rare gem in the chess world!

— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) June 28, 2025

Team Liquid has become one of the strongest teams in online chess with Praggnanandhaa now in the squad. Chess is set to feature in the upcoming Esports World Cup 2025, which will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 7 July to 24 August.

Praggnanandhaa will try to qualify for the event through the Last Chance Qualifiers, where only 4 spots remain. Many big names like Ding Liren, Wesley So, Anish Giri, and Daniil Dubov are also in the race.

India’s Arjun Erigaisi is the only Indian who has secured a place in the Esports World Cup so far. He plays for Generation Gaming. Meanwhile, other Indian GMs like Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram are part of the Indian Esports team S8UL and are also in the race to qualify.

Praggnanandhaa recently won his third title of the year at UzChess Cup Masters 2025 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.