• Source:JND
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Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was up against fellow teenager Erigaisi Arjun as he defeated him to enter the World Cup chess semifinal in Baku on Thursday.

Praggnanandhaa's mother, Nagalakshmi, got emotional as her son became the first Indian after Viswanathan Anand to enter the last four of the marquee tournament.

While giving an interview after victory, Praggnanandhaa had his mother in tears of joy while standing right beside him as the picture breaks the internet and gets viral on social media.

"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, Praggnanandhaa said on having his mother Nagalakshmi watching his games live.

 

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Praggnanandhaa will be the only other Indian after five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand to feature in the Candidates.

At the age of 10, he became the youngest Indian at the time to become a Grand Master. At 13, none other than Viswanathan Anand called him the real deal. And now, he has become the first Indian after Anand to reach the final four of the FIDE World Cup.

“I was in the restroom and I kind of forgot that I had to run for the game,” said the 18-year-old after the game. It is the same kind of nonchalance with which he has faced the pressures of fame and public expectations since he first captured the public imagination.

 

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He will now be up against America's Fabiano Caruana with already a virtual assurance of an entry into 2024 Candidates tournaments. This will make him just the second Indian after Anand to participate in the Candidates.

For now, Praggnanandhaa gets a day’s rest before he takes on Caruana in the semifinals.

 

What is a Candidates tournament in Chess?

Candidates is the World Championship cycle's last competition before the actual World Championship game. The Candidates Tournament winner will face the current world champion in the final match, making it the second-most significant tournament in the World final cycle. Since 2013, the Candidates Tournament has been organised in every two years.