CNN
 — 

Millions in India shall be cheering on the teenager chess prodigy often known as Pragg as he takes on Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen for the title of World Chess Champion on Tuesday.

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 18, is ready to sq. off in opposition to the five-time world champion in Baku, Azerbaijan after defeating Fabiano Caruana in a tense match to safe his place within the closing.

It comes a couple of yr after Praggnanandhaa shocked the chess world by beating Carlsen in a web based elite fast chess event, turning into the youngest participant to defeat the Norwegian since he turned world champion in 2013.

The win reverberated throughout India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar praising Praggnanandhaa for his talent and expertise.

Born and raised in Chennai in southern India, Praggnanandhaa took an curiosity within the recreation after his older sister, Vaishali, began taking part in at age 6. At the time, he was simply 2 years outdated.

“I usually went and disturbed her and then my parents decided to buy me a chess book, and that’s how it started,” Praggnanandhaa informed CNN Sport final yr.

Vaishali later turned a grandmaster in 2018 and a global grasp in 2021.

Living in Chennai, often known as the “chess capital of India,” Praggnanandhaa was given many alternatives to hone his craft, notably on the Bloom Chess academy, the place he says he “learned a lot.”

At the age of 6, he got here second within the under-7 Indian championships earlier than profitable gold on the Asian Championships, then went onto win the World Youth Chess Championships for under-8s and under-10s.

Then, in 2016, he created historical past after profitable his ninth spherical recreation on the KIIT International Chess Festival in Bhubaneswar, India.

Praggnanandhaa earned his third worldwide grasp norm, an achievement handed out for top stage of efficiency in a event. Having earned two earlier norms already, on the age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days, he turned a global chess grasp – the youngest ever.

Despite all his victories, Praggnanandhaa stays modest about his achievements, even telling CNN Sport after defeating Carlsen final yr that each one he needed to do after was “go to bed” because it was 2.30 a.m. in Chennai.

“I think maybe some people see me (as a role model),” he stated on the time. “I don’t know, because I think for me, all the top players are role models because each one has different qualities to learn from. And if someone can learn something from me, that’s good.”