R Praggnanandhaa Explains Why Top Players Favour Rapid Over Classical Chess
Teenage Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa believes that players like Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura are gradually moving away from classical chess due to the mental and physical exhaustion associated with playing the long format for extended periods.
Magnus, a five-time world champion, and world No.2 American Grandmaster Nakamura have been playing fewer classical games, opting instead for freestyle, rapid, and blitz formats.
Praggnanandhaa, who has won three major classical titles this year, feels players do not particularly enjoy the extensive hours of preparation required for classical chess and find rapid and blitz more satisfying.
'"It's difficult to play classical chess because everyone is well prepared… the opening preparation part is huge in classical chess. If you compare it to freestyle, you don't have to prepare before a game, while in classical chess, you're basically forced to.
'I don't think anyone actually enjoys that process, but you're forced to and you have to have a plan for everything. That requires a lot of effort," said Praggnanandhaa, who has won the Tata Steel Masters, Superbet Classic, and Uz Chess Cup this year.
Why Classical Over Blitz?
The 19-year-old from Chennai believes that the chances of burnout increase with years of playing classical chess.
'And when you play a lot of such tournaments, then your energy is also (drained)… I mean you can also be mentally and physically exhausted. So all these things happen. I think that's the reason why everyone prefers other formats," Praggnanandhaa said.
'I mean, I myself like freestyle much more because of the fact that you don't have to prepare before a game. That doesn't mean we don't want to work on (our) chess. We enjoy working on chess.
'But the fact that you have to (put endless hours in preparations)… you're forced to do before the game like three-four hours of preparation, then it's not really something that everyone enjoys. So yeah, I like freestyle. I like rapid and it's a bit more than classical for sure. But I think classical is still the main thing."
Praggnanandhaa credits his professional growth to the support provided by the Adani Group over the last year and a half.
'Adani Sportsline have been supporting me for the last one-and-a-half years already. And it's quite important because we do travel a lot and training is also expensive than what people think," says Praggnanandhaa.
'For example, last year, I played in the Candidates, which required a team to help and then also like in-person camps. So all these things require support and that's where I think the Adani group has been supporting me in a huge way.
'And they were also there when I didn't have (a good) last year; they were there supporting me throughout. So, yeah, a huge thanks to them."
(With inputs from PTI)
About the Author
Ritayan Basu
First Published:
July 02, 2025, 16:40 IST
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Jasprit Bumrah keeps a tab on commentary when Ravi Shastri hypes him on-air with towering praise: ‘He's listening…'
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri hyped Jasprit Bumrah once again during commentary on Day 3 of Edgbaston as the Indian paceman listened to it on the sidelines with a smile on his face. Shastri, who has often praised Bumrah on-air, did it again when India were dominating England with half of their side back in the pavilion for 87. The premier pacer was rested for the second Test to manage his workload, which irked several cricket fans and pundits, including Shastri, who was not impressed with this call by the team management when India was trailing in the series. Ravi Shastri hyped Jasprit Bumrah from the commentary box.(PTI Images) However, in his absence, Mohammed Siraj led the charge and dismantled the English batting line-up with a six-fer. He was well complemented by Akash Deep from the other end, who claimed four wickets. When India were in the dominant position with the ball, Shastri made sure to hype Bumrah while he noticed that the Indian paceman was listening to his words from the sidelines with a cheeky smile on his face. 'Can you imagine if Jasprit was out there in the middle with that many runs on the board? He's listening. England wouldn't have been happy,' said Shastri. The team management picked Akash Deep in place of Bumrah, and he justified his selection by claiming four wickets to give needed support to Siraj, the standout bowler. Mohammed Siraj stands tall with a six-fer Siraj's six-for is not only his best Test bowling performance in England but also marks him as only the second Indian bowler to take six wickets at Edgbaston since Chetan Sharma's 6/58 in 1986. Despite a game-changing 303-run stand between Harry Brook (158) and Jamie Smith (184*), which nearly tilted the balance in England's favour, Siraj stayed composed. With the second new ball in hand, he led India's fightback, dismantling the lower order by removing Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, and Shoaib Bashir in quick time. His timely breakthroughs ensured India regained control just as England looked set to pull off a dramatic turnaround. By stumps, India had extended their overall lead to 244 runs at 64-1 in their second innings with KL Rahul (28*) and Karun Nair (7*) in the middle.
Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Mohammed Siraj bowls with heart, fire and finally some luck to end second-fiddle perception in Jasprit Bumrah absence
'Well bowled, bad luck' is one of the worst compliments a bowler can receive. Every bowler loves to bowl well, but he'd rather take a bushel of wickets not bowling well than the other way round. Mohammed Siraj claimed a six-fer against England in the first innings at Edgbaston.(Action Images via Reuters) For a long time, Mohammed Siraj must have been wondering what he needed to do to turn his 'bad luck' around. From the time of his debut in Melbourne in December 2020 (not longer after his father passed away in Hyderabad and he couldn't make the trip back home owing to Covid-19 restrictions that would have prevented him from rejoining the team), Siraj has been nothing if not all heart. Whether with the ball or in the field, he gives it his all. That hasn't always translated to success in the manner in which it is measured – numbers in the wickets column, or runs saved in the outfield. But, and pardon the poor pun, Siraj has never lost heart. When the rewards finally came at Edgbaston on Friday, the 31-year-old would have been equal parts elated and relieved. Elated that he stepped up to the plate when the team required him the most, in Jasprit Bumrah's absence, and relieved that finally, for all his commitment and fire and passion, there was something to show. Before the third day of the second Test, Siraj's last five-fer in Tests was in January last year, on a spiteful Newlands surface when he sent South Africa crashing to 55 all out on the first morning. He took six for 15 to Bumrah's two for 25. That first-session jaw-dropper set up India's series-levelling seven-wicket victory. Siraj will be hoping Friday's six for 70, a splendid effort with both new balls, will catalyse a similar denouement. Over the years, it has become fashionable to run Siraj down. He averages a perfectly respectable 30.71 from 38 Tests, his strike-rate isn't shabby at 52.4 balls per wicket. Just to put things in perspective, the highly rated Mohammed Shami's average is 27.7 and his strike-rate is 50.3. Siraj doesn't suffer much by comparison, but perception is a strange beast in Indian cricket, which is why the larger ecosystem was quick to label the Indian bowling in Australia over the winter a one-man army. True, Bumrah towered over everyone else – teammate and opponent alike – but Siraj bowled more overs than everyone except Pat Cummins, and took more wickets than only Bumrah, Cummins and Scott Boland, also the only three who took wickets quicker than him. His tally of 20 sticks was just one behind Boland and he had better returns than Mitchell Starc, but all that was overshadowed by the genius of Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj shuts his critics but the job is not done yet Siraj will be the first to admit he could and should have done more. He must have been troubled by the lack of wickets – he admitted in Australia that Bumrah played a key role in settling his anxiety, reminding him of the need to focus on what he needed to do rather than worry about what the outcome would be – especially because even former colleagues were questioning his place in the scheme of things. He can now allow himself a little pat on the back, but only a little one, because he knows that there is plenty of work ahead of him in this Test, and going forward. Siraj might have seen a bit of himself in his beleaguered mate Prasidh Krishna on Friday. The Karnataka pacer leaked runs by the dozen in his first spell – 50 in five overs – as India embarked on a flawed short-ball mode of attack against Jamie Smith. It wasn't of his own volition that Prasidh was banging the ball into his own half of the pitch. Shubman Gill had three men patrolling the leg-side boundary and a fourth halfway to the fence, hoping to trap the England wicketkeeper on the pull. Smith had an answer to every Prasidh bouncer on a slowish, unresponsive track where the ball hardly rose above the waist. When he did bowl a more conventional length after lunch, Prasidh beat the bat numerous times but by then, the damage had been done, his reputation as a free leaker of boundaries having grown manifold. 'Somebody in the team had to do it,' Prasidh said last week in Leeds, where also he was the designated bouncer enforcer. 'I can't sit back and say, 'I want to look at my numbers, what my economy is'.' Prasidh was the odd wicketless man out at Edgbaston as Siraj and Akash Deep shared all ten wickets. Knowing Siraj, he would already have told his pace buddy that the latter's time will come, soon. After all, there is a reason why the Hyderabadi goes by jigra.
Hindustan Times
23 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
IND vs ENG Live Updates: Onus on KL Rahul, Karun Nair to strengthen India's position in first session on Day 4
IND vs ENG Live Updates, India vs England 2nd Test Day 4: The thrilling second Test match moves to the fourth day with the Indian team in the commanding position at the moment with a 244-run lead. The visitors have done a brilliant job so far in this match with the bat, and the bowlers, especially Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, complemented them well in the first innings with the ball. The onus is back on the batters to set up a big target for England, which should be no less than 450, considering how England chased down a 350-run total in the first More KL Rahul (28*) and Karun Nair (7*) remained unbeaten at stumps on Day 2 as India ended the day in a strong position, though looming rain clouds and a light drizzle cast uncertainty over the weekend's proceedings. With the match finely balanced, weather interruptions could play a crucial role in determining the outcome of this gripping contest. Rahul looked in good touch at stumps and played some fluent shots on both front foot and backfoot, while Nair will be under immense pressure to play a big knock after three flop outings in the series. Under the floodlights, India's openers accelerated at an impressive rate, nearing seven runs an over. Their fifty-run partnership materialised swiftly before Josh Tongue intervened, trapping Yashasvi Jaiswal leg-before-wicket. The left-handed opener scored 28 runs off 22 balls, which revealed the intentions of the Indian team with the bat in the second innings. The English bowling has been pretty ordinary so far in this match and in-form batters like Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant need to play with a positive intent to make sure they post a big total but at the same time give their bowlers enough time to all out England in the fourth innings on the flat track. Earlier, Mohammed Siraj rose to the occasion at Edgbaston, producing a career-defining six-wicket haul (6/70) that put India in a commanding position in the second Test. With Jasprit Bumrah rested, Siraj led the attack brilliantly, setting the tone early on Day 3 with a fiery spell that saw him remove Joe Root and Ben Stokes off back-to-back deliveries. His double strike, following Zak Crawley's dismissal late on Day 2, had England tottering at 84/5. Though Harry Brook (158) and Jamie Smith (184*) stitched together a stunning 303-run stand to revive England's hopes, Siraj held his nerve. He returned with the second new ball to clean up the tail, dismissing Carse, Tongue, and Bashir in a clinical finish that capped a memorable effort under pressure.
