India, who has been known as Cricket dominant country has become a powerhouse in Chess over the last few years. From Double Gold in Chess Olympiad, FIDE Men's World Championship in 2024 to Women's Chess World Cup in 2025 India has got their rising stars such as Dommaraju Gukesh, Divya Deshmukh. However, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is also in its own league since and is aiming to achieve another glory.
Praggnanandhaa, a 20 years old prodigy from Chennai, recently qualified for the Candidates chess tournament. The 2026 Candidates Tournament is an eight-player chess tournament that will determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2026. The winner of the tournament will earn the right to play the World Chess Championship 2026 against the current World Champion Gukesh.
When asked about his feeling after qualifying for Candidates, he shared that the tournament is still far away. “Yea, it was a nice feeling. I'm excited to represent India at Candidates against some world class players. Aim is to obviously qualify for the World Championship. Thanks to coaches, family and everyone who's supported me. Will keep working hard and giving my best,” he said.
“But Candidates is still four months away. So I'm not thinking much about it. The focus is on upcoming tournaments.” he added. Praggnanandhaa is currently playing in Global Chess League (GCL) at Mumbai.
Praggnanandhaa was runner up in the 2023 World Cup. Thus he participated in 2024 Candidates as well. However, he failed at that time to qualify for the World Championship and stayed at fifth position. He is aiming now to turn it around and play in a World Championship match against Indian rival Gukesh, who is also his good friend.
Praggnanandhaa, who deservedly earned one of the eight slots in the 2026 Candidates has been the best FIDE Circuit player throughout the year, winning the Tata Steel Masters, Superbet Chess Classic Romania, UzChess Cup Masters, and London Chess Classic Open. Also finishing second in the Stepan Avagyan Memorial and 12th Sinquefield Cup. Though he failed in the FIDE Men's World Cup in 2025, as no one from India even reached the Semifinal.
“In World Cup, I was not able to perform according to my expectations. I will try to improve on it,” he admitted.
“Last five years have been game changing for Chess. Tournaments like GCL have helped our players to give their best and play against top players from the World. Many players have emerged from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu etc. The system has done exceptionally well. So it's only upwards from here,” he added about the improvement of Chess in India.
Praggnanandhaa who caught eyeballs at the age of 16 only, has beaten decorated Chess champion Magnus Carlsen. He even outclassed Gukesh in some tournaments. He shared that he loves to carry nutes and bananas in his bag for every tournament. Praggnanandhaa was part of Indian men's team who won chess olympiad in 2024. He also highlighted that India must organise more international chess tournaments.
"I love playing in Mumbai or anywhere in India. Generally we have to play abroad due to various international tournaments. Over the last 4-5 years, I'm getting good support from crowd too. We must focus on hosting more international tournaments now. It will boost our confidence & people will get connect to this game more closely," Praggnanandhaa shared. He concluded with an aim to win Candidates in his 2nd attempt and then World Championship too. So as the new year awaits us, fans will be delighted if Praggnanandhaa wins Candidates in 2026 & it will be an historic day for country as two Indians will face off in World Championship match.
