Striking a balance | Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa
Fresh off one of the biggest wins of his chess career, R. Praggnanandhaa reflects on success, setbacks and learning to switch off
Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa is learning to loosen up. These days he posts short recaps of his tournaments and shares light-hearted videos, like one of making an omelette which went viral. The soon-to-be 21-year-old says he is “much more confident in front of the camera” than he used to be. That’s because chess coverage has mushroomed with multiple social media outlets tracking the exploits of Gen Z players. This year as world champion D. Gukesh has struggled with form, it is Praggnanandhaa and his older sister Vaishali Rameshbabu who have made the right moves and won two top-tier tournaments in the Norway Chess and Candidates, respectively.
Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa is learning to loosen up. These days he posts short recaps of his tournaments and shares light-hearted videos, like one of making an omelette which went viral. The soon-to-be 21-year-old says he is “much more confident in front of the camera” than he used to be. That’s because chess coverage has mushroomed with multiple social media outlets tracking the exploits of Gen Z players. This year as world champion D. Gukesh has struggled with form, it is Praggnanandhaa and his older sister Vaishali Rameshbabu who have made the right moves and won two top-tier tournaments in the Norway Chess and Candidates, respectively.
Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa is learning to loosen up. These days he posts short recaps of his tournaments and shares light-hearted videos, like one of making an omelette which went viral. The soon-to-be 21-year-old says he is “much more confident in front of the camera” than he used to be. That’s because chess coverage has mushroomed with multiple social media outlets tracking the exploits of Gen Z players. This year as world champion D. Gukesh has struggled with form, it is Praggnanandhaa and his older sister Vaishali Rameshbabu who have made the right moves and won two top-tier tournaments in the Norway Chess and Candidates, respectively.
Praggnanandhaa aka Pragg doesn’t mind the spotlight. “It is great how chess’s popularity has grown in the last six years,” he says. “Earlier only major tournaments would be covered. Nowadays Norway Chess gets so much coverage. That way more people get interested in the game.” The tournament saw Pragg wowing audiences as he beat five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen twice in the classical format. He describes the Norway Chess title as “sweeter” than his win at Tata Steel Chess last year because of the nature of his victory which saw him win four consecutive games. “Throughout the tournament I was playing good quality games. I realised I have to work on time management which led to mistakes and cost me games.”
It’s not just time management on board, players also have to manage a busy tournament calendar which is packed with games across formats like freestyle and rapid and blitz. “I played and won a lot at the start but I also got burnt out," he says. "There was no mental energy to fight towards the end of year.” He credits his sponsor Adani for backing him—with training and travel—when the going got tough with a dip in form.
Pragg and his team have been more mindful balancing between play and rest and it has reflected in the results so far including a tied first finish in rapid chess at the Grand Chess Tour in Croatia. “It’s important to switch off and not look at chess for some time once you are back from a tournament,” he says. “This year I just want to have fun and improve as a player and enjoy the process.”
Candidates 2026 didn’t pan out the way he wanted—he finished seventh in a field of eight—but what helped him overcome the setback was seeing his sister Vaishali win the Women’s title. So would he be helping her prep for the World Championship? “I’d be more helpful as a brother than a chess player, like not do things that annoy her,” he says with a smile.
