R Praggnanandhaa: How sister's hobby shaped young chess wizard who stunned World No.1 Magnus Carlsen

Touted as the one for the future when he became an International Master at the tender age of 10 years and nine months in 2016, Praggu, as he is fondly called by his friends and coaches, has made giant strides and on Sunday he notched up the biggest win of his career by upstaging world number one Magnus Carlsen.

It was a hobby acquired from his sister but R Praggnanandhaa made chess his life's calling pretty early on, picking up the nuances of the game at an age when most kids are classified as toddlers.

All of 3 when he took to the sport after his elder sister Vaishali was introduced to it to wean her away from watching too many cartoon shows on TV, the currently 16 Praggnanandhaa is now the next big thing in Indian chess.

Touted as the one for the future when he became an International Master at the tender age of 10 years and nine months in 2016, Praggu, as he is fondly called by his friends and coaches, has made giant strides and on Sunday he notched up the biggest win of his career by upstaging world number one Magnus Carlsen.

It was a special feat considering that he is only the third Indian after the great Viswanathan Anand and P Harikrishna to best the Norwegian superstar, who is the reigning world champion.

For Praggnanandhaa, the journey began when life is a bit of a blur for most youngsters.