Chess Ace Praggnanandhaa Becomes Top Junior, Draws Humorous Reaction From Giri

Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri, known for his sharp wit, stirred the chess community with a humorous reaction to R Praggnanandhaa achieving the World No. 1 junior ranking.

"Keeping track of U20 players is totally pointless," quipped Giri, currently ranked world no. 10 with a live rating of 2748.0. His comment subtly acknowledged the exceptional talent emerging from the younger generation, who are already making waves in senior chess circles.

Giri's remark followed Praggnanandhaa's impressive win at the UzChess Cup Masters 2025 in Uzbekistan. This victory propelled the 19-year-old to a live rating of 2778.3, positioning him as World No. 4 overall and India's highest-rated chess player, surpassing even World Champion D Gukesh (2776.6) and Arjun Erigaisi (2775.7).

Praggnanandhaa's path to victory was a hard-fought one. He started the final day trailing behind Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov but secured a crucial win against Abdusattorov in the last classical round, forcing a three-way tie.

In the ensuing blitz tiebreaks, Praggnanandhaa demonstrated remarkable composure, ultimately clinching the tournament victory in the second set of rapid games. This marks his third major classical title of the year.

Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion, lauded the young prodigy, stating, "This win seemed the least likely with just two rounds to go… An impressive demonstration of character."

With this triumph, Praggnanandhaa adds the UzChess Cup to his impressive 2025 accolades, including victories at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament and the Superbet Classic in Romania. He also recently secured the runner-up position at the Stepan Avagyan Memorial.

While Giri's comment was lighthearted, Praggnanandhaa's accomplishments underscore a significant shift in the chess landscape. The future of world chess is rapidly evolving, and Indian players are at the forefront of this transformation.