R Praggnanandhaa, Aged 16, Beats World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen

R Praggnanandhaa, aged 16, beats world chess champion Magnus Carlsen

World champion Magnus Carlsen sat puzzled when he realized he was going to lose the eighth round of the Airthings Masters online rapid chess tournament to R Praggnanandhaa.

[{"selector":"#anim-6797fa8f-ca93-44b7-af67-298b6378b720","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ea76c15a-db86-4d28-a3f7-db426a9d71d1","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-116.61129%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7666b950-8d4e-40e1-8e93-810a3814a013 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(7.882812244434547%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}]

Norwegian World No 1 Carlsen, the undisputed king of chess and a marketing face of the game, was always Praggnanandhaa's idol.

[{"selector":"#anim-c021f264-8c61-4014-859d-8dac19159fbc","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5d5d5850-3b4d-4d4a-90d0-45182f4fff68","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-119.93356%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a7614a88-531c-426a-96c7-74a620788f0f [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(37.66571956225061%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

India is also experiencing a imminent chess boom - the Indian Chess League is set to unroll from June with a prize money of at least Rs 2 crore.

[{"selector":"#anim-9c3abe94-c24e-48cb-b127-5922721992d1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0e4c4198-7075-4519-9b1c-2ce43e2c9160","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.94685%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

The game of wits surely made him weary as he told the International Chess Federation website “I just want to hit the bed,”with groggy eyes.

[{"selector":"#anim-b1479d5e-c981-44e1-a9b2-6b8618fe9748","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d742930e-8199-4e61-b680-a895cb100e35","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-120.598%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e832b8df-bf7d-4e11-9faf-918010b784af [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(34.21126487425445%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

He is the third Indian, after Viswanathan Anand and P Harikrishna, to accomplish the rare feat of beating Carlsen.

[{"selector":"#anim-40ec4518-2099-42fb-94ba-d0c442c7446a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-14bf79cd-ef0a-4778-a022-ba252640e801","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-116.27906%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1f3857c0-c971-46c2-9dc5-c55df0129b7d [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(31.246337776828504%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}]

Carlsen was not the only elite player he scaled in the tournament. Hours before beating him, he had out-marted Armenian GM Levon Aronian.

[{"selector":"#anim-44c4830e-c922-4ec1-af09-b8b15e89a4dd","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6b43eec2-4df3-49e1-bd6d-8c1e1f986b31","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-116.94352%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7233e73a-9d1d-4be5-844e-0f78bfbfb61a [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(20.843749823081005%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}]