R Praggnanandhaa Defeats Magnus Carlsen Thrice in Classical Chess: Check His Other Major Wins Here

R Praggnanandhaa is no longer just a promising name in Indian chess. The 20-year-old from Chennai has become one of the most feared players in the world. His latest feat of defeating world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen twice in the same tournament at Norway Chess 2026 has put the global chess community on notice. With this, he became one of the few players to beat Carlsen thrice in classic chess.

About R Praggnanandhaa

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was born on August 10, 2005, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He started playing chess as a child and showed extraordinary talent from the very beginning.

He became the youngest International Master in history at the age of 10. Just two years later, in 2018, he earned the Grandmaster title at 12 years and 10 months old. At the time, that made him the second-youngest Grandmaster in chess history.

Before turning 13, he had already won World Youth Chess Championships in the Under-8 and Under-10 age groups. Those early titles were a sign of things to come.

His older sister, Vaishali Rameshbabu, is also a Grandmaster. The two siblings are the first brother-sister pair in history to both hold the Grandmaster title.

Let us look at some of the most important wins in his career:

The 2023 Chess World Cup

The chess world truly took notice of Praggnanandhaa in August 2023, when he reached the final of the FIDE Chess World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.

To get there, he defeated a string of top players. His semifinal win over Magnus Carlsen, the five-time World Champion and world No. 1, was among the biggest upsets of the year. At just 17, he became the youngest Indian player to reach a World Cup final and the third-youngest player ever, after Bobby Fischer and Carlsen himself, to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.

The final went the distance. Carlsen won the tiebreak 2.5-1.5 to claim the trophy, but Praggnanandhaa's runner-up finish had already changed how the chess world saw him. He was no longer a promising youngster. He was a genuine contender.

Norway Chess 2024: First Classical Win Over Carlsen

The 2024 Candidates Tournament in Toronto ended with Praggnanandhaa finishing fifth. Fellow Indian D Gukesh won the event and went on to become World Champion. But Praggnanandhaa had a more personal milestone to chase.

At Norway Chess 2024 in May and June, he made history in Round 3. Playing with the White pieces, he defeated Magnus Carlsen in a classical game for the first time ever. The victory was clean and controlled. Praggnanandhaa built an early advantage from the opening and converted it without giving Carlsen a way back in.

It was a landmark moment for Indian chess and a statement from a young player who was no longer content to admire the legends from a distance.

The 2024 Chess Olympiad

Later that year, Praggnanandhaa was part of the Indian team that won the gold medal in the Open section at the 45th Chess Olympiad in September 2024. He played on Board 2 and scored 6 points from 10 games.

The gold was India's finest Olympiad result in the open section and confirmed that Indian chess, led by players like Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, and Arjun Erigaisi, had arrived at the very top of the world game.

Tata Steel Chess 2025

In January 2025, Praggnanandhaa delivered one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, held annually in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.

After 13 rounds of the round-robin event, he and reigning World Champion Gukesh were tied at 8.5 points each. In the tiebreak, Gukesh won the first blitz game and needed just a draw in the second to take the title. Praggnanandhaa refused to let it go. He won both blitz games to claim the championship.

That victory made him the first Indian player to win the Tata Steel Masters since Viswanathan Anand did it in 2006. The feat placed him in the company of chess royalty.

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Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2025

In May 2025, Praggnanandhaa added another title to his growing collection. He won the Superbet Chess Classic Romania, one of the Grand Chess Tour's most prestigious legs, in Bucharest.

He, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Alireza Firouzja all finished tied at 5.5 points after nine rounds. In a three-way tiebreak playoff, Praggnanandhaa won the decisive game against Vachier-Lagrave to claim the title and a prize of $77,667.

He also won the 2025 FIDE Circuit overall, the season-long points competition that rewards consistency across elite events. His peak FIDE rating reached 2785 in September 2025, and he climbed as high as world No. 4 in July 2025.

Norway Chess 2026

The biggest chapter in Praggnanandhaa's story, so far, is being written right now.

At Norway Chess 2026 in Oslo, he defeated Magnus Carlsen in Round 3 with the White pieces. The result drew wide attention, but what happened next was even more remarkable.

In Round 8, on June 3, 2026, Praggnanandhaa defeated Carlsen again. This time with the Black pieces. Carlsen ran into serious time pressure deep in the endgame, blundered under the clock, and was forced to resign. The game had been evenly poised for a long time before Praggnanandhaa found his opportunity and seized it cleanly.

With that win, he became only the second player in history to defeat Magnus Carlsen twice in the same tournament. The first was Viswanathan Anand, nearly two decades ago. Praggnanandhaa has now defeated the Norwegian icon at least three times in classical chess, placing him in an extremely exclusive group.

After Round 8, Wesley So leads Norway Chess 2026 with 14 points. Firouzja holds second with 13 points. Praggnanandhaa sits just one point further back with 12, and two rounds still to play.

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