Chess World Cup: As Praggnanandhaa takes Carlsen to tie-breakers, coach RB Ramesh explains what it takes to ‘Be Like Pragg’ | Chess News

It seemed like an inside joke between two friends. Magnus Carlsen, in the midst of his own tiebreak tussle against Vincent Keymer at the FIDE World Cup, walked up to R Praggnanandhaa to congratulate the 18-year-old for eliminating World No 2 Hikaru Nakamura. It was a brief conversation, Carlsen was on a clock after all, with his game against his German opponent still hanging in the balance. But that short exchange quickly became viral.

Magnus Carlsen congratulates 18-year-old Indian sensation Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa for knocking out Hikaru Nakamura. pic.twitter.com/LCMG95S77K
— Olimpiu Di Luppi (@olimpiuurcan) August 11, 2023
Later, when asked about that moment, Carlsen said RB Ramesh, Pragg’s coach, had been telling youngsters at a coaching camp at Offerspill Chess Club, which is Carlsen’s club, that they should ‘be like Pragg’. “I told Praggnanandhaa that today we all want to be like Pragg,” Carlsen told FIDE’s YouTube channel.
Over the last two days, not too far away from that viral moment, Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen have sat across each other in the final of the World Cup, each trying to win his first title at the prestigious event. Game 1 ended in a draw on Tuesday with some intent from both players. But Wednesday’s Game 2 saw Carlsen pushing the contest to a stalemate from the start, so that he can take his chances against the teenager in the tiebreaker on Thursday. He needn’t be reminded that it’s in the tiebreaks that Pragg has taken down good friend Arjun Erigaisi, World no 2 Nakamura and World no 3 Fabiano Caruana so far in the tournament already. It was Carlsen, after all, that told the rest of the world what Praggnanandhaa’s coach Ramesh has been telling only a select group of chess enthusiasts: Be Like Pragg.
INTERACTIVE: You can follow the move–move action from Wednesday’s second game in the final between Praggnanandhaa and Magnus Carlsen below and also click on the notations at the right of the board to retrace the way the game developed:

It sounds like a smart catchphrase thought of a marketing wizard. But grandmaster RB Ramesh, the man who came up with the ‘Be Like Pragg’ line, swears it as a motto for success.
So what does it take to be like Pragg?
Ramesh paints a picture of a boy who is so dedicated to his craft that he has actively abstained from the trappings that take up considerable time of most teenagers like social media and socialising with friends.
Instead of that, Pragg spends his time in intensely cerebral training sessions that help boost his visualisation powers. It’s not as dramatic as playing chess blindfolded but it’s equally effective.
“We do a lot of sessions where we train without moving pieces on the board. We just discuss the moves verbally and we analyse positions. But we don’t move any pieces. Most players train moving pieces on the board, but when you do that your visualisation skills will not be so good. That’s why Pragg is probably the best among all the other players in his generation when it comes to visualisation,” Ramesh tells The Indian Express.
Ramesh also talks of Pragg’s incredible self-control and contrasts it to others in his age group. For this, Ramesh, who was India’s 10th grandmaster, returns to the genesis of the ‘Be Like Pragg’ line.
The line came during a training session at Carlsen’s club, Offerspill, where Ramesh was the chief coach during a recent training camp, that coincided with the start of the FIDE World Cup in Baku.

“When I asked kids at Magnus’ club if they were doing enough to ensure their growth in chess or they felt they could do more, everyone there said they could do more. They said they had other commitments: partying with friends, playing video games, social media. Then I told them the case of Pragg. How he’s also a teenager, but he’s taken a conscious decision to stay away from these things as much as possible to just focus on chess. That’s the price he’s been paying for chess excellence. That’s why I told them they should be like Pragg,” says Ramesh.
This monk-like discipline helped Pragg blitz through obstacles and rack up one accolade after another. He became an international master (the title chess players have before grand master) at the age of 10, becoming the youngest player in the world to do so. He then became a GM at the age of 12, the second youngest player to do so at the time. He reached the 2600 mark in the ELO rating at the age of 14, once again a world record at the time.
But more importantly, his rivals took note of this boy from Chennai.

Defend like Pragg
The gesture from Carlsen after the Nakamura game was not the first time the World No 1 had tipped his hat to the 18-year-old.
In one of the duo’s first encounters in a match, at an online rapid event as part of the Champions Chess Tour, Carlsen offered the teen a draw repeating a move (in chess, players can agree to a draw repeating a position three times). But Pragg declined the draw offer.
“The game eventually ended in a draw, but immediately afterwards, Magnus said he really liked his fighting spirit. He said he liked the fact that Pragg was not respecting him too much,” revealed Ramesh.
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In another game, at Tata Steel Masters, Carlsen had an advantage against Pragg. But, as Ramesh puts it, “Pragg defended, defended, defended” and pulled out a draw!” That again got Carlsen to praise the Indian’s tenacity on the board.
As his coach Ramesh adds: “He’s extremely ambitious. Most players have self doubts that prevent them from dreaming too high. But in Pragg’s case there is very minimal self doubt. He dares to dream about going all the way to the top. He knows he needs to yearn for it! I have seen many talented chess players. Everyone of them loves chess. But Pragg loves chess even more.”
Making it to the final of the FIDE World Cup, sealing a spot at the Candidates Tournament and defeating the World No 3 Fabiano Caruana and World No 2 Nakamura in the space of one month is a testament to the mantra that success on the 64 squares can be achieved fast. All you need to do is ‘Be Like Pragg’.