Only a day after India became the first country to land on the south pole of the Moon, a teen chess sensation could write another chapter in the nation's history.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 18, will face world number one Magnus Carlsen, 32, in a tiebreaker round at the FIDE Chess World Cup final in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday.
Social media was abuzz with messages of good wishes for Praggnanandhaa, fondly nicknamed Praggu – only the second Indian player after chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand to reach the World Chess Final.
Grandmaster is a lifelong title bestowed to the world's strongest players by the International Chess Federation, which is known by its French acronym FIDE.
“Patience is the key! An 18-year-old young lad is set to create history today. India is rooting for you, champ! Let’s go,” said social media user Meeti Shah on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Praggnanandhaa is such an inspirational man! I hope he wins against Magnus,” said another, Jasha.
Did chess originate in India?
Some historians believe chess originated in India about 1,500 years ago.
Praggnanandhaa, from Chennai, the chess capital of cricket-loving India in the southern state of Tamil Nadu was inspired to take up the game after watching his sister Vaishali Rameshbabu.
Vaishali, 21, holds the titles of Woman Grandmaster and International Master.
Their mother Nagalakshmi enrolled them in chess classes to make sure the siblings did not spend too much time watching television.
Father Rameshbabu has spoken in the past of great pride in his children's achievements.
“I must credit my wife, who accompanies them to tournaments and is very supportive,” he said.
“She takes great care of them.”
Praggnanandhaa began practising chess at the age of two. His first success came in 2013 when he won the Under-Eight World Youth Chess Championship at the age of seven, earning the title of FIDE Master.
He again won the title two years later in 2015 in the Under-10 category.
A year later, he became the Youngest International Master at the age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days and won his first Grandmaster title at the World Junior Chess Championship in 2017 – becoming the youngest player ever to accomplish the feat.
In 2018, he became the fifth-youngest Grandmaster globally and the youngest Indian to achieve the feat.
Last year, he became the youngest player to beat reigning world champion Carlsen at the online Airthings Masters.
Praggnanandhaa practises for six to eight hours a day.
His mother, Nagalakshmi, still takes him to chess classes and accompanies him to tournaments abroad, carrying her induction stove, rice cooker and masalas to feed Praggnanandhaa home-cooked meals.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
