Bengaluru: Late last year, Praggnanandhaa reached a point where he found it “boring” to look at chess. It was only fair. He played around 15–17 tournaments across over-the-board, Freestyle, Esports, and online events in 2025. The first half of the year was stellar. But as his physical and mental reserves wore thin, his form and rating dipped and it seemed as though two different players had showed up in each half of the year.
The 20-year-old Indian now heads to his second Candidates – which will run from March 29-April 16 in Cyprus – no longer unfamiliar with the behemoth that is the eight-player tournament, and with the will to make good of a shot at the World Championship. Praggnanandhaa impressed on his debut in the 2024 Candidates – which fellow Indian Gukesh went on to win – finishing fifth.
“Both in 2024 and 2025, Praggnanandhaa played too many tournaments,” his mentor and long-time coach RB Ramesh told HT, “As a result, many things became habits because he was doing it so often and there were no breaks to fix them.”
Praggnanandhaa’s last tournament was the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk Aan Zee, which ended on February 1. Following which he switched to Candidates mode – getting together with his team for preparatory camps.
“Last time we worked with some big names for the Candidates. It was a good deal of serious chess work during the camps but the creativity and fun was probably missing. This time, both Praggnanandhaa and I feel more confident and comfortable,” said Ramesh, “The biggest change this time is that our team doesn’t have big names. It’s just players who Praggnanandhaa is comfortable with, who’re ambitious and willing to put in the hours and not stress too much. During our recent camps with Praggnanandhaa, he was cool-headed, happy and analysing well. He understands that it’s not going to be easy. If he can replicate how he was during the camps, in the tournament under pressure, he will have a good chance to win.”
On his Candidates debut two years ago, the Indian had former world No 4 and much-loved Russian Grandmaster and commentator Peter Svidler by his side, as his trainer. They went on to part ways and Indian Grandmaster Vaibhav Suri who has been working with Praggnanandhaa since 2024, will be travelling with him for the tournament this time.
In an earlier interview to HT, Suri spoke about how being more ambitious – with openings and with what one wants out of games – has been one of their areas of focus with Praggnanandhaa along with a closer study of his competitors. Their conversations span everything from Carlos Alcaraz’s epic comeback against Jannik Sinner in the 2025 French Open final to Tamil movie plots.
Soon after the 2024 Candidates, Praggnanandhaa defeated world No 1 Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura at the Norway Chess tournament to finish third. Last year, saw him take down reigning world champion D Gukesh to win a historic Tata Steel Masters title in Wijk Aan Zee, the only Indian to do so other than five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand.
Praggnanandhaa is a more mature player today than he was two years ago on his Candidates debut. He’s also more aggressive and willing to take risks. It’s been little over 50 days since his last tournament outing and being free from the demons of fatigue will be key in a long, punishing competition like the Candidates. He’s been meditating and hitting the gym to build his endurance and find calm.
“Praggnanandhaa has the tendency to become positionally-oriented going into endgames more often,” Ramesh offered, “If things go well, he can outplay his opponent. Else, it can mean a lot of losses. The same goes for risk-taking. If he’s in good form, it can pay off, if not, it can backfire. I’m curious to see how it goes at the Candidates.”
Though form hasn’t been his friend lately, a couple of good results early in the tournament could do Praggnanandhaa’s confidence a world of good. He may not be the outright favourite in a field that features former World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana, but he’s no pushover either. If anything, he’s among the contenders.
On his day, Praggnanandhaa is the kind of guy who can beat anyone—and that alone counts for plenty.
