Praggnanandhaa surpassed five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand to become the country’s top-ranked chess player in the FIDE’s live ratings.
Praggnanandhaa, an Indian youngster, defeated defending World Champion Ding Liren in the fourth round of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee on Tuesday.
With the win, Praggnanandhaa surpassed five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand as the country’s top-ranked chess player in the FIDE’s live ratings, with a rating of 2748.3, while Anand has a rating of 2748. (FIDE releases the published ratings at the beginning of each month).
Pragg became the second Indian, behind Anand, to defeat a reigning world champion in classical chess.
Pragg had an edge on the board right away because he was playing with black pieces. This was his first victory in four rounds of the Tata Steel chess tournament this year, following three draws. Praggnanandhaa defeated Ding with black pieces at the same event on January 17, 2023. Ding was the world number two at the time, and he was ready to compete in the Candidates event.
Ding is competing in a rare tournament in Wijk aan Zee, having won the world title last year by defeating Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi. Meanwhile, Gukesh, who became the first Indian to surpass Anand as India’s top player in 36 years in the FIDE published ratings last year, lost against Anish Giri.
Jorden Van Foreest held Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, the third Indian player in the tournament, to a draw.
Giri’s victory puts him at the top of the rankings going into the first rest day of the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament. Pragg is currently in third place, followed by Vidit in seventh and Gukesh in tenth.
