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An 11-year-old chess prodigy is in London to chase his dream of becoming the youngest ever Grandmaster.

The Sunday People understands that Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa learnt to play chess aged three before he could even read.

And now he has his eyes set on beating Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin’s long-standing world record of achieving the coveted title at the age of 12 years and seven months.

“I don’t know why I’m good at chess, I just really enjoy it,” said the modest schoolboy, who is so skilled he can even play the game blindfold.

“I like the tactics and calculating all the different possibilities.”

Neither of Praggnanandhaa’s parents play chess, but his 15-year-old sister Vaishali is a Woman International Master.

“I saw my sister playing when I was three and wanted to play too,” he said.

“Now I play for three or four hours every day after school in an academy. I want to become world champion as soon as possible.”

But despite his prodigious talent, Praggnanandhaa is in many ways just like any other schoolboy and loves riding his bike and watching cartoons.

He will be an inspiration to the thousands of British schoolchildren attending the London Chess Classic over the next week to play games against each other.

More than 2,500 youngsters from all over the country have been given the chance to attend the event at Kensington’s Olympia thanks to the charity Chess In Schools & Communities.

Charity founder Malcolm Pein said: “Chess helps with so many things. At the most basic level, it teaches children to take it in turns and wait for the other person to have their go.

“But it also gives them problem solving skills and is great for learning concentration.”