Chess players

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu

Grandmaster, India. FIDE rating 2763, October 2026.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, known as R Praggnanandhaa, is a grandmaster from India. He is rated 2763 and ranked seventh in the world on the FIDE list of October 2026. He plays Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in St Louis from 26 to 30 October 2026 and the Total Chess pilot in Budapest from 10 to 20 November.

FIDE title: Grandmaster
Federation: India
Born: 10 August 2005, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Classical rating: 2763 (October 2026)
Rapid rating: 2730
Blitz rating: 2712
Peak rating: 2785 (September 2025)
World rank: No. 7 (October 2026)
FIDE id: 25059530

Praggnanandhaa won the World Youth under-8 title in 2013 and the under-10 title in 2015. He became an international master at 10, the youngest ever at the time, completing the requirements in about four months, and a grandmaster at 12 years, 10 months and 13 days, then the second-youngest in history. In 2019, before turning 14, he won the under-18 world youth title, and the same year he won the Xtracon Chess Open unbeaten with 8.5/10 in a field with 13 grandmasters rated over 2600.

In 2022 he beat Magnus Carlsen at the Airthings Masters of the Champions Chess Tour, the youngest player to beat Carlsen since Carlsen became champion, and won Olympiad bronze with India in Chennai with 6.5/9 on board three. At the 2023 World Cup he beat Hikaru Nakamura 3-1, Arjun Erigaisi in round five and Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5, and lost only the final to Carlsen, the youngest player to reach a World Cup final. He played board two when India won the 2024 Olympiad, and in 2025 he won Tata Steel in a playoff over Gukesh, the Superbet Chess Classic in May and the UzChess Cup in June.

At Norway Chess 2026 he won four classical games in a row, one of them against Carlsen, and took the title by beating Vincent Keymer with White in the last round. In the last round of the 2026 Candidates he and Nakamura played an unusual Catalan in which Nakamura briefly sacrificed his queen, and the game ended in a draw in a same-colour bishop ending. His rapid rating on the October 2026 list, 2730, is eighth in the world, and before the Grand Chess Tour Finals he won the 2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz.

His 2026 began poorly: 11th of 14 at Tata Steel with 5.5/13 and seventh at the Candidates in Pegeia with 6/14. From May it turned. He won Norway Chess in Oslo with 18 points, a point ahead of Wesley So, then beat Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the Grand Chess Tour Finals in Saint Louis from 22 to 27 August to take the overall Tour title and US$200,000. At the Samarkand Olympiad he scored 6.5/10 on board one and won the board-one bronze medal as India took team silver.

He plays Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in St Louis from 26 to 30 October against Javokhir Sindarov, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, then the Total Chess pilot in Budapest from 10 to 20 November. The Budapest groups play 45-minute games with a 30-second increment, three points for a win and one for a draw, and the knockout adds rapid and blitz. His elder sister Vaishali Rameshbabu, who won the 2026 Women's Candidates and plays Ju Wenjun for the women's title, is also in the 24-player field.

Next events

1.Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown: 26 to 30 October 2026, St Louis, United States. Rapid double round robin with Sindarov, Nakamura and Caruana.
2.Total Chess World Championship Tour pilot: 10 to 20 November 2026, Anantara New York Palace Hotel, Budapest, Hungary. 24 players, including his sister Vaishali Rameshbabu.

Recent results

Praggnanandhaa's recent results
Event	Dates	Result
46th Chess Olympiad, Samarkand	16 to 27 September 2026	6.5/10 on board one for India and the board-one bronze medal; India took team silver
Grand Chess Tour Finals 2026, Saint Louis	22 to 27 August 2026	Won; beat Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the final and took the overall 2026 Tour title
Norway Chess 2026, Oslo	25 May to 5 June 2026	1st with 18 points
FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, Pegeia	29 March to 16 April 2026	Shared 6th and 7th with 6/14, 7th on tiebreak
Tata Steel Masters 2026, Wijk aan Zee	16 January to 1 February 2026	11th of 14 with 5.5/13

Career highlights

1.Won the World Youth under-8 title in 2013 and the under-10 title in 2015.
2.Became an international master in 2016 at 10, the youngest ever at the time.
3.Became a grandmaster in 2018 at 12 years, 10 months and 13 days.
4.Reached the 2023 World Cup final, the youngest player to do so, and lost only to Magnus Carlsen.
5.Won Tata Steel Chess in 2025 in a playoff over Gukesh.
6.Won Norway Chess 2026 with 18 points after four straight classical wins.
7.Won the 2026 Grand Chess Tour, beating Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the Finals.

Frequently asked questions

What is R Praggnanandhaa's next tournament?

Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in St Louis from 26 to 30 October 2026, a rapid double round robin with Javokhir Sindarov, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. After that he plays the Total Chess pilot in Budapest from 10 to 20 November.

What is R Praggnanandhaa's FIDE rating?

On the October 2026 FIDE list Praggnanandhaa is rated 2763 in classical chess, 2730 in rapid and 2712 in blitz, and he is seventh in the world in classical. His highest classical rating is 2785, on the September 2025 list.

How old is R Praggnanandhaa?

Praggnanandhaa was born on 10 August 2005 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, so he is 21.

What is R Praggnanandhaa's biggest title?

The 2026 Grand Chess Tour. He beat Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the Finals in Saint Louis, held from 22 to 27 August 2026, won US$200,000 and finished first in the overall Tour standings. Earlier in 2026 he won Norway Chess, and in 2025 he won Tata Steel in a playoff over Gukesh.

Is R Praggnanandhaa related to Vaishali Rameshbabu?

Yes. Vaishali Rameshbabu is his elder sister. She won the 2026 Women's Candidates with 8.5/14 and will play Ju Wenjun for the women's world title.

Sources

Facts checked on 20 October 2026. Ratings are from the FIDE list of October 2026.

More profiles: all chess player profiles.