Chess Sensation Praggnanandhaa Joins Magnus Carlsen's Team Liquid Ahead of Esports World Cup

Magnus Carlsen, the five-time world chess champion, has welcomed R Praggnanandhaa, the 19-year-old Indian chess grandmaster, to his esteemed Team Liquid. This exciting development comes ahead of the Esports World Cup, scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 29 to August 1.

Team Liquid officially announced the arrival of Praggnanandhaa on X, stating, "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."

Carlsen humorously responded, "Whole lot of letters in Praggnanandhaa, but no «I». Welcome to the team."

Praggnanandhaa himself expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “Super excited to be part of Team Liquid! From India to the world, let’s take chess to the next level together!”

Praggnanandhaa is now the fourth Indian chess player to be associated with an esports franchise, following in the footsteps of Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, and Aravindh Chithambaram.

Arjun Erigaisi has been signed by Generation Gaming (Gen.G), while Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram are part of the India-based S8UL roster.

Arjun has already secured his place at the Esports World Cup, which will feature only 16 participants. Other confirmed participants include Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, who are among the 12 grandmasters with guaranteed spots. Other notable players include Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja (both 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.

R Praggnanandhaa will represent Team Liquid in the Last Chance Qualifiers, where several prominent chess figures will compete for the remaining four slots. The qualifier lineup features current world champion Ding Liren (LGD), Wesley So (NAVI), Oleksandr Bortnyk (NAVI), Anish Giri (Team Secret), and Daniil Dubov (Team Spirit).