© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

A 16-year-old from India has beaten world chess champion Magnus Carlsen

Indian chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, shown here in 2018, has beaten world champion Magnus Carlsen.
Arun Sankar
/
AFP via Getty Images
Indian chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, shown here in 2018, has beaten world champion Magnus Carlsen.

At just 16 years old, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is now the youngest chess player ever to defeat Magnus Carlsen in his long reign as world champion. The two faced off in an online tournament that had featured 16 elite players.

Praggnanandhaa is a grandmaster from India who is commonly referred to simply as Pragg. The chess prodigy said after the game that he was glad to improve on his play from the tournament's first day — and to avoid a draw in his game against Carlsen, which included 39 moves.

"I'm just really happy," he said in an interview from Chennai, India.

Pragg is the youngest person to defeat Carlsen since he became world champion — a streak that extends back to 2013, as World Chess notes.

For Carlsen, it was another disappointing game in a tournament that has seen him make uncharacteristic blunders. The Norwegian said he's feeling the effects of COVID-19, after testing positive for the coronavirus before the tournament.

"It's been pretty bad. I played a couple of decent games, but the rest of them have been poor. I need to do a lot better than that," Carlsen said, according to the International Chess Federation website.

"It's been a little bit better today," Carlsen said Monday, "but the first couple of days I was feeling like I'm OK, but I didn't have the energy, which made it hard to focus because every time I tried to think I blundered. It was a little bit better today, but still pretty bad."

Before running into Pragg, Carlsen had notched three straight wins, showing signs of returning to form after a rough start. In contrast, Pragg was bouncing back from three losses.

Because of the time difference involved in playing the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour 2022 online tournament, the teenager is required to stay up late at night to face the world's best chess players. After his win, Pragg was asked whether he would get some rest or take time to celebrate with a nice dinner.

"It's about just going to bed, because I don't think I will have dinner at 2:30 in the morning," he said.


A version of this story first appeared in the Morning Edition live blog.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content