India's Praggnanandhaa beats China's Wei Yi, enters semi-finals of Chessable Masters 2022

There's no stopping Praggnanandhaa Rameshbab these days. The 16-year-old chess prodigy from India beat China's Wei Yi in the quarter-finals of the ongoing Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament to move into the semi-finals. Praggnanandhaa made a great start as he snatched the lead in the first two games.

The Chinese star made a small comeback after winning the third game but the fourth clash ended in a draw and the Indian GM claimed a win by 2.5-1.5.

Earlier, the Indian Grandmaster had defeated World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the fifth round of the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament. It was Praggnanandhaa`s second victory over Carlsen in just three months.

Praggnanandhaa will now be going up against Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the semi-final clash of the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament. 

How did he start playing chess?

It was a hobby acquired from his sister but R Praggnanandhaa made chess his life's calling pretty early on, picking up the nuances of the game at an age when most kids are classified as toddlers.

All of 3 when he took to the sport after his elder sister Vaishali was introduced to it to wean her away from watching too many cartoon shows on TV, the currently 16 Praggnanandhaa is now the next big thing in Indian chess.

With PTI inputs