Indian Grandmaster R Praggnananda created history by winning the Norway Chess 2026 title on June 5. Praggnananda became the first Indian to win this tournament. 20-year-old Praggnananda had achieved this feat by defeating Germany’s Vincent Keimer in the final round. Praggnananda did not start the tournament well but made a strong comeback in the later matches. During this period, he defeated world number-1 Magnus Carlsen twice.
Praggnananda became the second Indian player to defeat Carlsen twice in the same tournament. Earlier in 2007, Vishwanathan Anand had defeated Carlsen in two consecutive matches in the Linares International Tournament. After this success of Praggnananda, Praveen Thipsay, the first Indian to achieve Grandmaster Norm, has made a big claim. Thipsay has described Praggnanandhaa as a more dangerous player than Carlsen.
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Pragyanananda is ahead of Gukesh-Erigasi
Grandmaster Thipsay, awarded the Dronacharya Award, believes that Praggnananda is India’s strongest player. He said that he is ahead of world champions D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaysi. Thipsay told news agency PTI, ‘Pragnananda is the best Indian chess player at present. Given his current form, he can be considered one of the most dangerous rivals in the world. I even consider him a more dangerous player than Carlsen.
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Thipsay described Praggnanandhaa’s victory in Norway Chess as one of the best achievements by an Indian player in recent years. He said, ‘What a wonderful comeback Praggnananda has made. Last year he was not able to perform as expected but now he has really performed exceptionally. Indian chess needed this kind of performance.
Thipsay said, ‘Till a few years ago he used to play more aggressively but now he has learned to blunt the moves of the opposing player.’
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