Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa makes India proud: Anand Mahindra, Snapdeal boss Kunal Bahl laud chess prodigy

Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is making waves on social media after defeating World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana on Monday to reach the final of the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The chess prodigy managed to beat the American player 3.5-2.5 after tiebreaks. He is now all set to face World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen for the title clash.



India Inc bosses were impressed to see the chess champ make India proud.

Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl said that Praggnanandhaa's entry into the FIDE World Cup finals was "fantastic news for India."


Businessman Anand Mahindra was in awe of the chess genius with the "Bigg Bigg" news. "My heart is swollen with pride. Bless this talented youngster and may he keep making us stand tall in the world of Chess (Chaturanga!) in the future…," he wrote.


This isn't the first time the Chairman of Mahindra Group praised Praggnanandhaa. He praised the 18-year-old's smartness and tenacity when the player emerged as a winner after seven tiebreaker games to face Caruana in the semifinals.


Earlier, Praggnanandhaa beat compatriot Arjun Erigaisi 5-4 in a sudden death tie-break to book a place for himself in the semifinals on Thursday.

Mahindra, who has been tracking Praggnanandhaa's progress, also lauded the young talent for the entering FIDE World Cup pre-quarterfinals. His tweet read, "I was waiting & hoping Pragg would pull this off and he did. He has beaten the Fide ranked world #2! What a star. What a brilliant future lies ahead of him…"


Praggnanandhaa had orchestrated one of the biggest upsets of the FIDE World Cup after he eliminated American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura in the tiebreakers.

The Chennai lad already secured a spot in next year's Candidates event. He is going to be the only other Indian other than five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand to compete in the Candidates.