Chess has become a new trend on social media due to its strategic nature and the absence of chance or fluke. It is a game fully based on one’s cognitive ability and presence of mind. Played on a board with 64 squares by two players sitting across from each other, chess is far more than just a typical board game. It demands immense concentration and can create significant psychological pressure on the players.
One tiny mistake can trigger a chain of moves leading to defeat—even for a grandmaster like Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian Chess Grandmaster, who has been seen smashing the table after losing to Indian Chess master Gukesh in Norway Chess 2025. Chess prodigies Gukesh Dommaraju and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who have won the titles of Indian chess grandmasters at a young age, have structured a new path for young chess enthusiasts.
Who are these young chess prodigies who took the internet by storm? Let’s find out.
One of the most talked-about young talents is Gukesh Dommaraju. Born in 2006 and hailing from Chennai, Gukesh comes from a Telugu family. He started playing chess at the age of seven. His father, who is an ENT surgeon, quit his job in 2017 to support Gukesh. He became the third-youngest grandmaster in history.
His chess journey began in earnest in 2013, and by 2015, he had already made his mark by winning the Under-9 section of the Asian Chess Championship. Since then, Gukesh has continued his upward trajectory.
In the 2018 Asian Youth Chess Championship, he won a total of five gold medals in the Under-12 events. In 2022, Gukesh set another record by becoming the third-youngest player to reach a FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs – also known as the International Chess Federation) rating of 2726, a prestigious milestone previously achieved by only two other prodigies: Chinese grandmaster Wei Yi and Iranian-French grandmaster Alireza Firouzja
On June 1 2025, Gukesh Dommaraju defeated Magnus Carlsen in the 6th round of the Norway Chess 2025. Carlsen is ranked number 1 in the FIDE ranking list, followed by Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Gukesh Dommaraju, who are ranked at number 4 and 5, respectively.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is an Indian chess grandmaster born in Tamil Nadu in 2005. He received the title of FIDE Master under-8 in 2013. A year after winning the Under-10 title in 2015, R. Praggnanandhaa became the youngest international chess master at the age of 10, and the 6th youngest Grandmaster—behind Gukesh.
He defeated Magnus Carlsen three times during the FTX Crypto Cup 2022, finishing in second place in the finals after Carlsen.
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In the following year, Praggnanandhaa defeated Ding Liren, the Chinese grandmaster and 17th World Chess Champion, in the Tata Steel Chess Masters 2023. After winning a game against Fabiano Caruana in the World Cup 2023, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest chess player to reach the World Cup final and the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand- to do so in chess World Cup history. Vishwanathan Anand became the first grandmaster of India in 1988, and two-time Chess World Cup Champion.
Praggnanandhaa received the second highest sporting honour of India, the Arjuna Award, in 2022 and is currently playing in the Freestyle Grand Slam event in Las Vegas.
Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa have been playing chess from a young age, writing their own stories in the world of sports and chess. The two young chess prodigies have made their country proud and laid the foundation for many aspiring chess grandmasters. [Rh/VS]