Magnus Carlsen Welcomes Chess Prodigy Praggnanandhaa to Team Liquid for Esports World Cup

Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen has welcomed 19-year-old R Praggnanandhaa to his Team Liquid ahead of the Esports World Cup, scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 29 to August 1.

Team Liquid announced the signing 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 responded with a touch of humor, "Whole lot of letters in Praggnanandhaa, but no «I». Welcome to the team."

Praggnanandhaa also expressed his enthusiasm: “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 join an esports franchise, following in the footsteps of Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, and Aravindh Chithambaram.

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

Arjun is the only player who has already secured a spot at the Esports World Cup, which will feature only 16 participants. Among the confirmed participants are Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, both part of the group of 12 grandmasters with guaranteed spots.

Other prominent 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 top chess players will compete for the remaining four slots. The qualifier lineup includes reigning world champion Ding Liren (LGD), Wesley So (NAVI), Oleksandr Bortnyk (NAVI), Anish Giri (Team Secret), and Daniil Dubov (Team Spirit).