NATIONAL : Chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa clinched the number one spot among India’s chess players following his victory over World Champion Ding Liren.

The 18-year-old defeated China’s Liren with the black pieces at the chess-tournament ‘2024 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, on Wednesday and surpassed the legendary Viswanathan Anand to take the number one spot.

Praggnanandhaa said he was surprised with the outcome as he didn’t expect the world champion to get ousted in such a fashion.

“I felt I equalized very easily, and then somehow things started to go wrong for him. Even after I won the pawn, I felt it should be holdable,” Praggnanandhaa was quoted as saying by Chess.com.

Praggnanandhaa, who started playing at the tender age of 5, went on to become India’s youngest and then the world’s second-youngest Grandmaster at age 12 in 2018.

He is the fifth-youngest person ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster after Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Gukesh D, and Javokhir Sindarov.

On the other hand, Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar also lauded Praggnanandhaa after the Chess prodigy clinched the number one spot among Indian Chess Players.

Sachin Tendulkar wrote, “Big cheers to @rpraggnachess for this remarkable triumph against World Champion Ding Liren. At the young age of 18, you haven’t just dominated the game but also risen to become India’s top-rated player. Best wishes for your upcoming challenges. Continue to bring glory to India on the international stage in chess.” (With inputs from the agency)