<p>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.</p>.<p>In a freewheeling chat with <em>DH</em>, Praggnanandhaa spoke about his recent performances, defeating Magnus Carlsen, the role of his sister in his career and more.</p>.<p><strong>How has the past couple of weeks been for you?</strong></p>.<p>It has been quite eventful. A lot of things happening. I'm just happy it went well for me.</p>.<p><strong>When you started, did you envision this level of success this early?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>Tamil Nadu has a strong chess culture, but how did you start playing the game?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>How does it help you to have your sister, Vaishali, also playing? Is there a friendly competition or rivalry? Do you motivate each other?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>Has she been instrumental in any of your victories?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>You're still a teenager. How do you balance the competition and school... do you feel like you are missing out?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>You travel with your mother, who carries a rice cooker...</strong></p>.<p>I like South Indian food. Sometimes the food there might affect. But now it is not a huge issue.</p>.<p><strong>The Chess Olympiad is coming up. How are you looking forward to it?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>How influential has Viswanathan Anand been for you?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>When you beat Magnus Carlsen for the first time, I heard you just told your parents you beat him and went to sleep...</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>How does it feel though that you beat him twice?</strong></p>.<p>Happy and these wins give me confidence.</p>.<p><strong>How does it feel to be interviewed so many times, back-to-back, most of them asking the same questions as well?</strong></p>.<p>It's kind of tough actually (smiles) but I think I have to do it for the growth of the game. It is necessary.</p>
<p>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.</p>.<p>In a freewheeling chat with <em>DH</em>, Praggnanandhaa spoke about his recent performances, defeating Magnus Carlsen, the role of his sister in his career and more.</p>.<p><strong>How has the past couple of weeks been for you?</strong></p>.<p>It has been quite eventful. A lot of things happening. I'm just happy it went well for me.</p>.<p><strong>When you started, did you envision this level of success this early?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>Tamil Nadu has a strong chess culture, but how did you start playing the game?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>How does it help you to have your sister, Vaishali, also playing? Is there a friendly competition or rivalry? Do you motivate each other?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>Has she been instrumental in any of your victories?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>You're still a teenager. How do you balance the competition and school... do you feel like you are missing out?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>You travel with your mother, who carries a rice cooker...</strong></p>.<p>I like South Indian food. Sometimes the food there might affect. But now it is not a huge issue.</p>.<p><strong>The Chess Olympiad is coming up. How are you looking forward to it?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>How influential has Viswanathan Anand been for you?</strong></p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>When you beat Magnus Carlsen for the first time, I heard you just told your parents you beat him and went to sleep...</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>How does it feel though that you beat him twice?</strong></p>.<p>Happy and these wins give me confidence.</p>.<p><strong>How does it feel to be interviewed so many times, back-to-back, most of them asking the same questions as well?</strong></p>.<p>It's kind of tough actually (smiles) but I think I have to do it for the growth of the game. It is necessary.</p>
