Praggnanandhaa becomes India’s top chess player, “rankings are secondary to performance”
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Indian chess sensation Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has emerged as the nation’s highest-rated player after clinching the UzChess Cup Masters title in Croatia.
Despite the milestone, the 19-year-old grandmaster remains focused on long-term goals rather than short-term ratings.
Praggnanandhaa secured the top spot by defeating Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov with the Black pieces in the tournament’s final round. The victory propelled his live rating to 2778.3, moving him ahead of fellow Indian stars and current world champion D Gukesh (2776.6) and Arjun Erigaisi (2775.7).
In the global rankings, Praggnanandhaa now sits at No. 4, just behind Magnus Carlsen (2839.2), Hikaru Nakamura (2807.0), and Fabiano Caruana (2784.2), and slightly ahead of Gukesh, who occupies the fifth position.
Commenting on his rise to the top of Indian chess, Praggnanandhaa told ANI, “I became India’s number one because of one point. So I don’t think it really matters. These one or two points can go either way in one game... I take a tournament at a time. I don’t pay too much attention to the like these one or two rating points that change.”
His recent success also earned him recognition from global icons Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, especially after he was chosen to represent Team Liquid in the upcoming Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh. Reacting to their praise, he said, “It feels good, but I don’t think it will impact me in any way... It inspires me to do better and gives me confidence.”
Praggnanandhaa also highlighted the crucial role of corporate support in his journey. He credited Adani Sportsline for backing him over the past year, especially during challenging times. “As chess players, we need to travel a lot and also train a lot... I trained for the Candidates last year. We needed to have a team and then have in-person camps. That’s where Adani Group’s support was invaluable... They were there supporting me through my loss. Such support makes you push yourself harder.”
“It’s great to see such corporations coming into the game. It’s overall a good thing for the game,” he added.