Praggnanandhaa challenges Magnus Carlsen as photo of mum goes viral
A photo showing the emotional rollercoaster of a mother as she watches her son play chess has gone viral on social media.
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A young Indian chess star is poised for greatness.
On Tuesday night Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (known as Pragg) will face off against the world’s highest rated player Magnus Carlsen in the final of the FIDE World Cup 2023.
It’s a huge moment for the 18-year-old prodigy.
Along the way he’s defeated Hungarian Ferenc Berkes and his compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.
He also knocked out world #3 Americans Hikaru Nakamura and #2 Fabiano Caruana. Tonight he faces the game boss #1 Magnus Carlsen.
Along with him on the journey is his mum Nagalakshmi. And two photos of her have gone viral on social media.
The moment took place as Pragg gave an interview after defeating Erigaisi in a sudden death tie-break.
One photo showed her overcome with emotion, covering her face as she shed tears of happiness.
The next photo showed her smiling proudly — an incredibly wholesome moment that almost everyone can relate to.
R Praggnanandhaa becomes the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to reach the Chess World Cup semifinals. The joy on his mother's face is just â¤ï¸ðŸ¥¹ pic.twitter.com/fyU4ieQYsz
— Divya Gandotra Tandon (@divya_gandotra) August 18, 2023
It's Pragg vs Magnus Carlsen 🔥
— Susan Ninan (@ninansusan) August 21, 2023
The 18 year old Indian will fight the world No 1 in the #FideWorldCup final. Anand is the only Indian to win the title so far.
What an insane run to the final for Pragg - took down World No 2 Hikaru & now World No 3 Caruana. 🚀 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/4HVEGcdmCT
Pragg said of his mum: “It’s definitely good to have someone here. My mother is always supportive.
“Even after losing games, she was just trying to calm me down.
“It’s good to have someone rooting for you here, and for me, my mother is a big support-not only for me but for my sister as well.”
The win means the 18-year-old from Chennai, India will compete in the Candidates Tournament for the opportunity to play against newly-minted world chess champion Ding Liren.
As for the World Cup, Pragg will face an uphill battle. Carlsen is rated 2835, a full 128 points above Pragg’s 2707.
“I didn’t expect to play Magnus in this tournament at all because the only way I could play him was in the final, and I didn’t expect to be in the final... I will just try to give my best and see how it goes,” he said of the upcoming match.
It’s been an incredibly strong tournament for the Indian contingent, with four players from the subcontinent making it to the quarterfinals.
Originally published as Praggnanandhaa challenges Magnus Carlsen as photo of mum goes viral
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