“I feel old for chess, honestly “ - Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa

“ I feel old for chess, honestly. I’ve been playing for a long time already “ - Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa

In this interview with FIDE, Praggnanandhaa discusses his mindset and preparation leading into the 2026 FIDE Candidates tournament. He emphasises viewing the event as a fresh start, noting that previous successes or failures matter less than current performance and mental focus. The young player highlights the importance of his rigorous daily routine, which consists of constant chess study balanced with meditation and physical exercise. He credits his rise to the immense sacrifices of his parents, who shielded him from financial stress during his early career to allow him to focus entirely on the board. Additionally, he expresses gratitude for corporate sponsorships and the emotional support of his sister, Vaishali, which enable him to compete at the elite level. Overall, the source captures a portrait of a disciplined competitor who relies on a strong professional and familial foundation to navigate the psychological pressures of world-class chess. You can watch the full video here - 🇮🇳 Praggnanandhaa R on the FIDE Candidates 2026, training and supporter

Charlize Van Zyl: I’m here with Pragg at the 2026 FIDE World Candidates in Cyprus. Welcome, Pragg. You are back. How does it feel to be here?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, it feels great. I think, I mean, so far I’ve liked the place. It’s great. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to the event.

Charlize Van Zyl: And tell me about your 2024 experience and level of play compared to now. What did you learn from that event that you’re going to be taking into this one?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, obviously I have more experience of playing at top-level events compared to then and now. And, you know, Candidates is a different event. You get different experience. It’s the longest event in the calendar, and so such things give a lot of experience. I’ll be taking those. But, I mean, saying that, I think it’s just a new event and none of the previous events actually matter so much. Whatever everyone has done in the past, it’s just one tournament and you just have to focus and play.

Charlize Van Zyl: So that’s an interesting point. So you’ve isolated the Candidates as a brand new event and not really comparing it to your others?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, I mean, it doesn't really matter. There have been so many incidents in the past that, you know, someone had a bad tournament before this and played really well here, or I mean, there are many cases. So it’s really like a new tournament and it’s just about playing well here. I think that’s all that matters.

Charlize Van Zyl: What about the psychological weight of this tournament compared to the other elites? Of course, you made it to the end of the World Cup, you’ve been in super long events, but the psychological weight of this one is a little bit different. Do you acknowledge that when you play here or you just treat it as a tournament?

Praggnanandhaa R: No, I mean, for sure it’s a different level of an event. But when you are playing a game, you’re basically playing a game. You can’t be thinking about—especially like starting rounds—you can’t be thinking about winning the tournament. So you just have to play your best and it’s a long event so there will always be chances. For me, I just want to play my best and see how things are going.

Charlize Van Zyl: And Pragg, you are still one of the youngest players in the field, but we’ve got a lot of new players making their debut here. How do you assess the field of the Candidates this year?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, I don’t know. I feel old for chess, honestly. I’ve been playing for a long time already, so I don’t think "this young" is there anymore. But no, I mean, I think everyone has played in the top, even the ones that are playing for the first time. So it’ll be a very exciting tournament. I don’t think there is any like a "target" in this event. Everyone has shown that they belong to the top level. To get here you have to have a great performance. So everyone has done it and it will not be an easy tournament, but I think what matters is giving her—giving your best on the day. My goal is just doing that.

Charlize Van Zyl: So you’ve mentioned now that you feel like an older player because you’ve been in chess and the elite for so long. So when you’re playing against players like Fabi and Hikaru, who are much older than you, do you feel on par with that experience or do you still feel the young ambition that you have has some sort of advantage?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, of course they have a lot of experience, but I think I’ve had enough experience playing all these players. I must have played so many games against Fabi already. So I know, in general, how he thinks and so on. When you play a lot against the same players, you get a lot of experience. So it’s not really a question of experience so much. Fabi specifically has played a lot of Candidates, so he knows much more, but again, saying all that, I think it’s just one tournament which whoever plays the best is going to take it. That’s why I said past things really don't matter so much.

Charlize Van Zyl: What about the age factor though? You know, we’ve got the younger players who probably will have ten more Candidates that they have played, but older players nearing their 40s—that’s becoming a bit of a question. Do you think that might have some psychological impact on how people perform with the Candidates?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, I haven’t really thought about those things. I don’t think it really matters for me so much, but it could play a role in their mind. I can’t really guess about that.

Charlize Van Zyl: Pragg, you had an incredible 2025—winning Tata Steel, the FIDE Circuit, which is how you qualified. 2026 has been a bit of a rougher start for you. How do you assess your form now, especially coming off this really hot year?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, towards the end of 2025 didn’t go my way. There were a lot of learnings, so I take it. 2026, I mean, I only played two tournaments and they didn't go my way. But as I said, I’ll take the learnings from them. I feel good coming into this tournament. I have trained for this tournament, I’ve been working hard, so I feel good and I feel confident.

Charlize Van Zyl: What does that hard work look like? I think it’s a different thing for everyone. What I consider as hard work could be not hard work for a player that works more than me. So it really depends on how people see it. But how do you see it? What is your classification of the hard work that you’ve been putting in—which, by the way, a lot of people in the world will see it as hard work at this level?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, no, basically when you end the day you feel satisfied, that’s already a good thing. So I think when the day is about chess, you kind of think a lot about chess, you train, and you work. I don’t know how to actually explain this, but that’s basically the day full of chess.

Charlize Van Zyl: Take me through—let's go for one day, morning to evening. You wake up, how is your day of chess preparation for Candidates?

Praggnanandhaa R: I remember there was some old intro of mine maybe 10 years back, one of my first interviews where I basically said: I wake up, I prepare, I eat, I go to sleep, repeat. And 10 years later, it’s basically the same. I mean, this is what I think most players do. You can add gym or physical exercise there, but it’s mostly the case. This is how I think training camp is mostly like.

Charlize Van Zyl: And the physical aspect is quite important, especially at this elite level of play. Is that something you keep up during tournaments like the Candidates as well?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, when I’m at home I try to keep a good routine for the physical aspect. But when you’re traveling around, it’s sometimes not that easy to keep the same routine, especially during the game days. That’s something that I’m still trying to figure out—what can I do? But in general, I think some walks here and there, I think it’s already a lot on game days because sometimes I don’t get so much time. So, yeah, I try to keep a routine on that as well.

Charlize Van Zyl: Well, you’re in a place where there are so many sports and activities. I don’t know if you’ve seen the brochure of like kayaking and all the different things you can do. Is that something you’ll be interested in?

Praggnanandhaa R: No, it’s a great place but we are here to play a tournament. So I don’t think any of those activities will interest me when I’m playing a tournament like this. We’ll see after the tournament, maybe I’ll try something.

Charlize Van Zyl: Pragg, you’re also the only Indian player in the FIDE Candidates this year. Does that give you some sort of pressure? Do you see it as you are holding the hopes of Indian fans, or you don’t think about that at all?

Praggnanandhaa R: No, I mean, that was not on my mind. As I said, it’s just one tournament. You can’t really think too much about it, just have to play. I don’t feel that pressure. Maybe it’ll be there on the game day or something, but right now I don’t feel that pressure.

Charlize Van Zyl: I spoke with Vaishali before speaking with you now. Of course, you guys are here together again—an amazing achievement. And she had a rough 2024 as well, and she said your support helped her so much to come back and win the five games. How much do you feed off of each other’s energy in an event like this?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, we do talk with each other during tournaments but not to that extent. If one of us is not playing, then we can discuss a lot more, but when both of us are playing a tournament like this, it’s kind of difficult to discuss a lot. But I think sometimes these little talks can be useful. She has also helped me in such things like motivating me after a loss or something. So it’s good to have someone you can talk to who can understand what you’re going through. At home, basically, it’s a great thing. It helps both of us that there’s always someone to talk to.

Charlize Van Zyl: And your mother too is probably the most supportive chess mom in the elite that I’ve seen, traveling with you. I know sometimes when you have separate events, she kind of has to choose who to go with, but Candidates you both are here. So tell me about her role in your tournament.

Praggnanandhaa R: I think she has probably the most stressful one. Watching one player’s game and rooting for them is already stressful enough; she has two. So I think that’s the most difficult one. But in jokes aside, I think she has been the biggest support for us. Without parents' support, I think it’s not at all easy to get where we are. Without their support, it’s not been possible. So we are grateful for their support.

Charlize Van Zyl: What did that support look like when you were younger and starting out in chess? Because there’s this conversation online now about how far parents should push their children to become great at any sport, really any activity that they do, or just let them enjoy. There are different ways that careers can go. How did yours look like at that age?

Praggnanandhaa R: I think it depends from person to person. But for us, they were—we were always interested in chess and we had the passion for it. They figured out that and they were supporting it in whatever way they could. You know, they have made so much sacrifice. My mother has to travel to every tournament, and my dad has to take care of his job and manage. All these things require a lot of sacrifice. Earlier in our career, we also had some financial issues which had to be taken care of. But they never really told us much about all these issues. We were just allowed to do whatever we were doing on the board, just focusing on the game. I think that really helps—we didn’t even know about a lot of these financial issues unless we grew up. So we could just focus on the games. I think that really helps a player when you don’t have to worry about anything else.

Charlize Van Zyl: And how happy does it make you feel knowing now about those issues, but the fact that you have gotten to this stage of being so successful, being able to give back?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, again, I think it’s just not only the player, it’s also support from the whole team—my family, but also I think the support from corporates also came at the right moment. Earlier on, I had the support from Ramco Group and now Adani Group has been supporting me. All these external supports are also essential in one’s journey. In that way, I think I’ve been really fortunate to have such great people around me to help me give my best at the board.

Charlize Van Zyl: A lot of people around you who believe in you. So that must affect your own belief in yourself in a way, right?

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, for sure. Even when things are not going my way sometimes, even I doubt myself, they are always there to push me and help me to come back to my form.

Charlize Van Zyl: Tell me a bit about the Adani support. I’ve noticed online recently you had some posts about them. What does this support look like? What do you do in this collaboration, or yeah, tell us more? I’m sure fans are interested to know.

Praggnanandhaa R: So they’ve been supporting me for the last two years and it has been a great support for me. Training for these tournaments can also be financially—like you have to hire seconds and all these things do require a lot of financial support. That’s where they come and they help me with that. So that again, I don’t really have to worry about anything else and it’s just about chess. I’m truly grateful for their support. The financial aspect doesn't affect me, and that’s being taken care of and now I can just focus on the game. I think that’s why the support system around you is so important at this level. I’m really fortunate to have such great people around me.

Charlize Van Zyl: The seconds is one thing to help you in a tournament and preparation, but there’s also been a bigger movement of mental health and mental resilience in this day and age. Do you have a mental coach that you work with or you practice activities like yoga or meditation? Because of course we know training is one thing, but having your mind in the right place is another.

Praggnanandhaa R: Yeah, for sure. Especially a game like chess requires a lot of mental strength as well. I’m not currently working with any sports psychologist or anyone like that. I do meditation. That’s basically the thing I do and I think that does help me to keep myself calm.

Charlize Van Zyl: Well, thank you so much, Pragg, for joining us today and good luck for your FIDE Candidates.

Praggnanandhaa R: Thank you.