Challenger to champion: How R Praggnanandhaa learnt to play for victory, not just experience

Before D Gukesh became the youngest chess world champion in 2024, R Praggnanandhaa emerged as India’s breakout star in 2023. The then-18-year-old held Magnus Carlsen to two draws in the classical games of the FIDE Chess World Cup. Although he eventually lost to the five-time world champion in the tie-breaks, Praggnanandhaa had already made a significant impact on the global chess stage.

Then came 2024. Praggnanandhaa finally secured his first win over Carlsen, the highest-rated chess player of all time, at Norway Chess and also helped India win a historic gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad. But at an individual level, the big trophies were missing. He finished fifth at the Candidates as Gukesh won the tournament at 17 and then went on to beat Ding Liren in December to become the world champion at 18. At the World Rapid Championship, Praggnanandhaa was in joint lead till the penultimate round before a blunder against teenager and eventual winner Volodar Murzin brought everything crashing down for the Indian.

Pure ecstasy and brutal agony, all within the span of a few months. Praggnanandhaa stood at a crossroads. Talent wasn’t the issue; the challenge was using it to cross the finish line. Something was off. Something had to change. But what, exactly? That’s when Praggnanandhaa turned to his most trusted ally in the chess world: his coach, R Ramesh.

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“I think Ramesh knows me the best regarding chess. I’ve been working with Ramesh for the last 11 years,” Praggnanandhaa told Firstpost. “We had a camp towards the end of the year. We were discussing all these issues in my game. And then we tried to go into details and try to find what is causing those issues and tried to find a solution to it.

“And I think all this work is paying off. In this regard, I think credit should be given to him.”

Mental adjustments make Praggnanandhaa a winner

But what was the solution? It was something seemingly minor, yet profound enough to be a life lesson. Praggnanandhaa was already beating top players, including Carlsen, but deep down, even he wasn’t entirely sure of what he was capable of.

In that camp at the end of 2024, Praggnanandhaa realised the fault was not in his game, but in his thinking. You can’t beat the best players in the world if you don’t think of yourself as the best.

Since then, he has been a different player, winning the prestigious Tata Steel Masters at the start of the 2025 by beating Gukesh in a tie-breaker, clinching the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Chess Classic Romania last month and currently leading the FIDE Circuit 2025 standings, which can earn him a spot in the 2026 Candidates.

“I think it’s mostly about mental changes, like being more confident in my abilities and trying to be more ambitious in games and not backing down against anyone,” Praggnanandhaa said while explaining what has changed in his game from 2024.

“You know, just fight, fight it out till the end. And as I said, I think once you believe in your abilities, you will fight in every game. Sometimes last year, especially in some tournaments, I was not feeling confident. So I think that was lacking. And once you regain that, you can be more ambitious. And I think now I’m more ambitious and fighting in every game.”

A big support in his journey has also been his sponsors, who have made travel and training easy for the teenage chess star. “Chess is expensive, especially when you travel to Europe for a tournament. You need to have trainers to help you during the tournaments. Apart from the tournament as well,” he said.

“It’s difficult when you prepare for tournaments like the Candidates. This is where the Adani Group, coming in and supporting players, is essential. This happened just before the Candidates, so I could prepare my best. I am also able to train with the best facilities. That’s showing in my result. I don’t need to worry about anything, just focus on the game and keep improving.”

With the key to winning decoded and sponsors onboard, Praggnanandhaa appears to be on the right path — grounded, yet ambitious.

The teenager is well aware that Magnus Carlsen and elite players like Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana aren’t going anywhere. And the competition is rising back home too, with the likes of D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi.

Praggnanandhaa is pleased with the progress he has made, but he knows there’s still a long way to go.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t really say I’ve been progressing rapidly,” Praggnanandhaa said. “There have been some hiccups in between, like last year just didn’t go my way. This year has been good for me so far, and I hope to continue that way. If you compare just these six months, then it’s been good.

“But if you like, take into account the last year, then I think it’s just normal progress and considering our last few months, definitely happy with my games and I want to continue playing this way,” he signed off.