How India is emerging as a chess powerhouse

[Jilly_in_VA]

"I just want to hit the bed," R Praggnanandhaa said early on Monday after defeating Magnus Carlsen, the highest-ranking chess player in the world, at the Airthings Masters, an online rapid tournament.

The frail-looking 16-year-old boy from India's southern city of Chennai is no stranger to success. At 10, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest International Master in the history of the game. Two years later, in 2018, he had become the world's then second-youngest chess grandmaster.

Now the prodigious teenager had achieved his "biggest dream" by becoming only the third Indian to trump the 32-year-old Norwegian grandmaster.

Praggnanandhaa, or Pragg as he's popularly known, belongs to a generation of young Indians who embody the country's growing influence in chess, a sport that has its origins in a two-player Indian board game from the sixth century. It's no mean feat in a country of 1.3 billion people feverishly obsessed with cricket.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60497243
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First they own all the spelling bees, now chess?

[lapfog_1]

1. chess was invented in India

[Johnny2X2X]

2. They are doing well, but hardly a powerhouse IMO

Only 3 of the top 80 FIDE classically rated players are Indian, only 1 in the top 20. Anand is a powerhouse for sure, and has been for 25 years.

Pragg beating Magnus is a rapid tournament is really cool, but it happens, Magnus is having fun and will take risks just to see what might happen. There's probably only 2 players in the world capable of beating Magnus in a classical World Championship format match right now, Liren Ding of China and Alireza Firouzja, an 18 year old French player. In fact, the Grand Prix legs are underway and Magnus Carlsen has said the only player he'd face to defend his world title is Forouzja, no one else would be worth playing to him. If Firouzja doesn't come out the Grand Prixs to challenge him, Magnus is not going to defend his title.

Teach your kids chess at an early age, the brain development chess facilitates is something that will pay off their whole lives.