From Candidates Setback to Global Dominance: R Praggnanandhaa Crowned Grand Chess Tour Champion
NEW DELHI: Just months ago, the chess world watched a poignant moment at the Chennai airport: R Praggnanandhaa, despite his own underwhelming campaign at the Candidates tournament, stood beaming as he held a congratulatory sign for his sister, Vaishali Rameshbabu, following her success in the Women’s Candidates. While he played the role of the supportive younger brother then, the spotlight has now firmly shifted to his own historic ascension.
In a landmark achievement in St Louis on Thursday, Praggnanandhaa defeated Fabiano Caruana 15-13 to secure the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) Finals title. The victory makes him the first Indian, and only the seventh player in the 11-year history of the tournament, to claim the prestigious crown, accompanied by a $200,000 winner’s purse.
Beyond the accolades, the win marks a significant psychological turnaround for the 21-year-old. After a difficult run at the 2024 Candidates tournament, Praggnanandhaa’s resilience has drawn high praise from the greatest name in Indian chess history, Viswanathan Anand.
A Masterclass in Recovery
Speaking in an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com, the five-time World Chess Champion assessed the youngster’s trajectory. “During the Candidates, he was having a kind of slump,” Anand noted. “His play had already started to decline at the end of last year… I thought he must have been a bit gloomy.”
However, Anand pointed to a recurring pattern of grit that defines the prodigy. “In Norway Chess, he was not doing well… at some point there were four rounds left and he was at the bottom, and then he won four games in a row. He has this capacity—it’s becoming more and more noticeable—that he’s able to win late games and change everything. That’s a very, very rare and useful skill to have.”
“The Number One Player in the World”
Anand’s assessment went even further, offering a bold endorsement ahead of the upcoming Olympiad. “I think at the moment, I would say he is the number one player in the world,” Anand stated with authority.
While acknowledging that Magnus Carlsen does not compete in every event, Anand emphasized that Praggnanandhaa’s consistent performance—which includes victories over Carlsen in classical chess—demonstrates a world-class level of development. “If you go back to Norway Chess and see the development from there, I think it’s just fantastic.”
The Road to St. Louis
Praggnanandhaa’s path to the GCT title was far from straightforward. The final saw him drop the opening classical game to Caruana and struggle to find his footing, before rallying to win both rapid games. He eventually closed out the match by forcing a 4-4 draw in the blitz section.
This victory effectively erases the narrative of the “Candidates collapse” that briefly shadowed his career. By avenging earlier losses to the likes of Javokhir Sindarov and Vincent Keymer, Praggnanandhaa has proven that he possesses not just the technical range, but the mental fortitude to thrive at the very top.
As he heads into the next month’s Olympiad, the young grandmaster is no longer just a promising talent; he is a seasoned tournament winner, having silenced his critics in the most emphatic way possible under the watchful eye of his mentor, Viswanathan Anand.
