Suffolk Chess

One of the stars at the Isle of Man International Tournament, which finished on 9 October, was 11-year old Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (pictured left).   He is the youngest International Master ever, having achieved the title at the tender age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days.

The chess world reeled at Praggna's amazing 18-move win in the final round, against a 2645-rated GM from Paraguay.   You can view the game here.   After White's 14. Na3?, the youngster played all the best moves, according to Stockfish.

Suffolk's Ed Player found himself playing the young IM in Round 3.   Ed was White and played a fairly standard Ruy Lopez.   His opponent won a pawn on move 23 and Ed was forced to resign after 37 moves.   Follow Ed's game below.

At 2448, Praggnanandhaa needs another 52 rating points, as well as three GM norms, to become the world's youngest-ever Grandmaster.   His target is the 12 years and 7 months of World Champion Challenger Sergei Karjakin.