Vaibhav Suri could not stop grinning. From a quiet corner of the Deichman Bjørvika public library in Oslo, Suri had just witnessed his student, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, take down Magnus Carlsen in the third round of the Norway Chess 2026 tournament. As Praggnanandhaa’s full-time coach, the result marked a significant milestone. The victory over Carlsen may have been second-hand — the joy, though, was completely unadulterated.

Praggnanandhaa, who had beaten Carlsen two years ago at the same tournament, had shrugged off the significance of the result by saying: “Honestly, I don’t think it’s such a big win.”

Suri disagreed. It was his first experience of a triumph over the Norwegian. “Beating Magnus is not a small thing. Magnus is Magnus,” he said.

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Over the last year, Suri has been the V8 engine to the Ferrari that Praggnanandhaa has been driving. His responsibility was inherited — RB Ramesh, Praggnanandhaa’s long-time coach, had asked him to succeed him, for he was shifting his attention to Chess Gurukul. Suri couldn’t have asked for a better player to work with.

Praggnanandhaa won Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz, finishd on joint top of Sinquefield Cup to qualify for GCT final as tour leader.

Pragg played 54 games in Saint Louis in 26 days, averaging more than 2 games per day, to win the Grand Chess Tour. There were days in the Blitz event when he had to rush through nine gruelling rounds in just a few hours. He managed to do all of it without Suri’s presence. Visa issues meant Suri couldn’t travel to the USA. The pair had to invent, which they did by coming up with a remote training regimen, despite an 11.5-hour time difference. For Suri, sleep proved to be a luxury for nearly a whole month.

When Pragg was asked about his GCT title win, he ended up spending most of his time talking about Suri. It was his way of paying the master back.

“He completely messed up his sleep schedule because of me. He couldn’t come here because of some visa issues, but he stayed connected with me despite the massive time difference. His sleep cycle must have been completely ruined. Huge credit to him. He was basically up throughout the night,” Pragg had said.

Specifically, Pragg praised Suri’s work ethic.

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“He worked probably more than me in this tournament. He is a dedicated person. He worked a lot. It’s difficult to put it in hours or words. He basically always has a plan for my next game before I even finish the game. So it’s much easier for me to come back and decide for the next games,” Pragg told .

“Even when I’m playing Rapid and Blitz games, he’s always there checking if there is some improvement needed or if we need to shift to a different opening or something. It’s nice to have someone like that who is always there to help. Huge thanks to him. As I said, doing it remotely with this time difference is difficult,” he added.

Never exhausted

If asked to do so, Suri would happily sacrifice his sleep cycle for Pragg again. For the motivation he has, it’s a small price to pay.

“I get very excited by the work I do. And honestly, I was willing to do whatever it takes to help Pragg. It’s completely okay for me. The fact that both Pragg and I are fairly well aligned on things makes it very easy,” he said.

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Praggnanandhaa poses with the 2026 GCT Finals trophy. (Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour)

“The stakes were so high. Between Pragg and I, we both understand and are willing to do genuinely whatever it takes to put our best. Make sure that there is no effort lacking from our end,” affirmed the coach.

While Praggnanandhaa put his GCT win second only to the World Championship, given the gruelling nature of the tour and the quality of the field, Suri has no favourites. For him, every tournament, every win, every move matters. “St. Louis Rapid and Blitz, Sinquefield Cup, Tata Steel Masters, Norway Chess… everything was very important,” he said.

Now that the title is won, one would expect the sleep cycle to be fixed.

Not quite. It has to wait. Suri is already deep into preparation for India’s men’s Chess Olympiad title defence, working alongside Sankalp Gupta and N Srinath.