R Praggnanandhaa beats Nodirbek Abdusattorov to become India’s no.1 in live chess ratings

R Praggnanandhaa (Pic: AFP)

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa reached a historic milestone by becoming the No. 1 ranked Indian chess player in live ratings. The 19-year-old Grandmaster achieved this remarkable feat after defeating Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov with Black pieces in the final round of the UzChess Cup Masters on Thursday.

With this win, Praggnanandhaa's live rating has surged to an impressive 2778.3, making him the World No. 4, the highest he has ever reached in his career.

Praggnanandhaa had previously etched his name into the record books earlier last year in January, during the prestigious Tata Steel Masters held in Wijk aan Zee of Netherlands. There, he made headlines by defeating reigning world champion Ding Liren, which propelled him to become the top-ranked Indian chess player for the first time.

That historic win also saw him overtake his long-time idol and legendary Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand in the live classical rankings. At the time, Pragg jumped two spots to 11th in the world, achieving a live rating of 2748.3, just 0.3 points ahead of Anand, who has held the mantle of Indian chess for over three decades.

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