Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa became India’s first World Chess Champion on Thursday, defeating Magnus Carlsen 3-2 in a five-game classical tiebreak to claim the title that Carlsen has held for 13 consecutive years.
The 20-year-old from Chennai, who had faced Carlsen in the World Championship match four times previously without winning, finally broke through in Reykjavik’s Harpa Concert Hall in what chess commentators are calling the most significant result in the sport since Kasparov’s fall.
The Decisive Game
Game 5, played over 6 hours and 22 minutes and requiring 94 moves, featured a rook endgame that analysts have described as the most precisely contested endgame in World Championship history. Pragg converted a half-pawn advantage into a win that drew a standing ovation from the 800-person audience.