(Image Source: X – Sanchi_rt)
[Saba Sports News] Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar praised young chess sensation Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa on Wednesday for securing the top rank among Indian chess players after defeating World Champion Ding Liren.
Tendulkar expressed his congratulations on his X (previously known as Twitter) account, encouraging the 18-year-old and wishing him success in future events. He highlighted Praggnanandhaa’s achievement in becoming India’s highest-rated player at such a young age and urged him to continue making India proud in international chess.
“Big cheers to @rpraggnachess for this remarkable triumph against World Champion, Ding Liren. At 18, you’ve dominated the game and are now India’s top-rated player. Best wishes for your future challenges. Keep bringing glory to India in chess,” Tendulkar posted on X.
Praggnanandhaa, 18, outplayed China’s Liren using black pieces in the 2024 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, surpassing chess legend Viswanathan Anand to become India’s number one. Surprised by his own performance, Praggnanandhaa commented, “I equalized easily and then he started to struggle. Even after winning a pawn, I thought it would be a draw.”
Beginning chess at age 5, Praggnanandhaa became India’s youngest and the world’s second-youngest Grandmaster at 12 in 2018. He ranks as the fifth-youngest Grandmaster globally, following Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Gukesh D, and Javokhir Sindarov. Notably, his sister R Vaishali is also a Grandmaster, making them the first brother-sister Grandmaster duo in the world.