Teenage Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has been going from strength to strength in the last one year. After defeating world No. 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen twice in online events, the 17-year-old Indian defeated the great for the third time in the final round of the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami on Monday. Praggnanandhaa won three straight games including two in the blitz tie-breaks to outwit Carlsen. After the win, Praggnanandhaa talked with NDTV about his recent run of form and his future plans.

“Very happy to comeback and win. It was a four-game match and I was down by 2-1. So, I needed to win the fourth game to equalise the score and take it to the tie-breaks,” he told NDTV.

“Quite rare that he loses. In rapid anything can happen. In rapid, it’s possible to beat him. In classic, it’s quite hard. Every in rapid it is very hard to beat him, so I am very happy to beat him in rapid.”

Praggnanandhaa said that he wants to play Carlsen more in the classic format in chess. “First, I need to get my ELO rating up. I am on 2675, so I need to get it up to 2750. I need another 100 points and I can play him regularly then,” Pragga said.

Promoted

“I think I can get it soon, I think within year I can reach the mark. I am aiming for that and I am looking to play more classical events. These rapid tournaments are very good experience for me. I am learning.”

Praggnanandhaa also played a crucial role recently in the India ‘B’ team’s bronze medal winning-run in the 44th chess Olympiad in Chennai.