Chess: ‘Whole lot of letters…’ — Magnus Carlsen welcomes Praggnanandhaa to Team Liquid | Chess News

Chennai: Chess grandmaster Praggnanandhaa after being felicitated by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin at his camp workplace, in Chennai. (PTI Photo) (PTI06_12_2025_000215B)

Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen has welcomed 19-year-old R Praggnanandhaa into his Team Liquid forward of the Esports World Cup, which will likely be staged in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 29 to August 1.“Before chess conquered the world, it was born in India. For centuries, India has shaped the game. Now, it shapes the future. Praggnanandhaa R. carries that legacy forward — and today, he joins ours. Welcome to Team Liquid. The future of chess starts here,” Team Liquid posted on X.In response, the World No. 1 wrote, “Whole lot of letters in Praggnanandhaa, but no «I». Welcome to the team.”Praggnanandhaa additionally shared his pleasure: “Super excited to be part of Team Liquid! From India to the world, let’s take chess to the next level together!”Praggnanandhaa grew to become the fourth Indian chess participant to join with an esports franchise — after Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, and Aravindh Chithambaram.Arjun Erigaisi was snapped up by Generation Gaming (Gen.G), whereas Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram have been named on the roster of India-based S8UL.Arjun is the one participant to have already assured himself a berth on the Esports World Cup, which is able to characteristic simply 16 members. Among those that have additionally certified are Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, who’re half of the group of 12 grandmasters with confirmed spots. The different gamers in that record embody Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja (each with Team Falcons), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Aurora), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (NAVI), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Team Vitality), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Twisted Minds), Wei Yi (Weibo), Vladislav Artemiev (Team Spirit), and Vladimir Fedoseev.Meanwhile, R Praggnanandhaa will compete underneath Team Liquid within the Last Chance Qualifiers, the place some of the most important names in chess will likely be vying for one of the 4 remaining locations. The line-up for the qualifiers consists of reigning world champion Ding Liren (LGD), Wesley So (NAVI), Oleksandr Bortnyk (NAVI), Anish Giri (Team Secret), and Daniil Dubov (Team Spirit).