I am improving and on the right path: Praggnanandhaa

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is the toast of the nation. The chess prodigy has gone from strength to strength and at 16 is already a world beater.

In a freewheeling chat with DH, Praggnanandhaa spoke about his recent performances, defeating Magnus Carlsen, the role of his sister in his career and more.

How has the past couple of weeks been for you?

It has been quite eventful. A lot of things happening. I'm just happy it went well for me.

When you started, did you envision this level of success this early?

I feel like it could have been even earlier. I think my ratings could have been much higher than what it is now. One of the reasons is the pandemic. But overall I am happy that I am playing like this now. It just shows me that I am improving and going on the right path.

Tamil Nadu has a strong chess culture, but how did you start playing the game?

I started because of my sister. She started because she was watching a lot of television when she was six and my parents wanted her to distract her. She started with a chess class nearby. She then started to take it seriously and went to tournaments. That's how I came into chess. I used to play with her chess pieces and then my parents got me a chessboard and I started from there.

How does it help you to have your sister, Vaishali, also playing? Is there a friendly competition or rivalry? Do you motivate each other?

There is no rivalry. It's great to have a chess player at home. You can discuss anything at any time. It benefits both of us. Whenever I have anything I can just ask her. Same for her also. So overall it benefits both of us.

Has she been instrumental in any of your victories?

When I was young, she was much stronger than me and lots of things I analysed with her. That definitely made me stronger. Now, still there are a lot of things she says that I can take into my game. There are many things she knows that I don't. I think it is just good for both of us.

You're still a teenager. How do you balance the competition and school... do you feel like you are missing out?

Thanks to my school, I don't have to go to school every day. That's a huge support for me to play tournaments and practice. Whenever I have to write exams the teachers and students help me. They have been very helpful in my journey. I want to thank my sponsors also. Ramco has supported me since 2016. IOCL also inducted me last week. My parents, coaches and sister. A lot of them. It's this support from everyone that I can focus on chess and not really on other things.

You travel with your mother, who carries a rice cooker...

I like South Indian food. Sometimes the food there might affect. But now it is not a huge issue.

The Chess Olympiad is coming up. How are you looking forward to it?

Very excited. I am happy and proud it is happening in Chennai. I didn't imagine it going into this year. So just a proud feeling and looking forward to the tournament. I'm pretty sure it will be a grand success. It's going to be a fun event.

How influential has Viswanathan Anand been for you?

Yeah, thanks to Anand sir... there are a lot of things... playing training games with him and he's always been helping me. Whenever I am working on something he's always there for me to ask doubts. Also thanks to him for taking us to the Westbridge-Anand Chess Academy. I learned a lot from the coaches there.

When you beat Magnus Carlsen for the first time, I heard you just told your parents you beat him and went to sleep...

It finished at night, around 2:30 am. This was the first time I beat him. I just told them and slept. Partly because I was tired and also because I had to do it all again, the tournament was still going on and I was just focusing on the game.

How does it feel though that you beat him twice?

Happy and these wins give me confidence.

How does it feel to be interviewed so many times, back-to-back, most of them asking the same questions as well?

It's kind of tough actually (smiles) but I think I have to do it for the growth of the game. It is necessary.