Over the last four months or so, R. Praggnanandhaa has made rapid progress in his game, beating five-time World champion and reigning World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen twice (online) and Anish Giri, ranked World No.10 once (also online).
The 16-year-old from Chennai went down fighting to World No. 2 Ding Liren of China in the final of the online Chessable Masters tournament that concluded early on Friday.
When asked about the learning experience from the Chessable tournament, Pragg, at a virtual press conference, said, “many things”.
“I was outplayed with white [in the first game of the final with Ding]. That shouldn’t happen. There were many [other] things as well. And to beat Magnus Carlsen and other top players regularly, I need to play more classical [over-the-board] games with them.”
Pragg’s long-time coach R.B. Ramesh said it’s great to see his ward improving and posting impressive victories over top players.
“Earlier he had time control issues. Now his time management is much better. He believes in his decisions. He doesn’t rely too much on preparations before a game. He has worked on his opening repertoire,” added Ramesh.”
The biggest difference between Pragg and others, Ramesh felt was that his ward was not just talented but extremely ambitious and willing to learn and improve on his weaknesses. “Pragg feels everything in chess can be learnt,” said Ramesh.
