A study on game theory has found that Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa displayed the highest game intelligence (GI) score in chess in 2024, which was close to a theoretical maximum.

Praggnanandhaa recorded a GI score of 177 in round three of last year's Norway Chess against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen.

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Dr Mehmet Ismail, Lecturer in Economics at King's College, London, came up with the finding after analysing a large database of chess games by combining human performance and engine analysis. He used Stockfish, the best available chess engine, to analyse the games.

According to Dr Ismail, 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa played a near-perfect game to beat Carlsen in the event. "What’s even more remarkable is Magnus himself naming this game as his most memorable of the tournament, even after winning the Norway Chess title," remarked the organisers of Norway Chess.

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To put it into perspective, World Chess Champion D Gukesh posted a GI score of 159.28 in his Game 11 win over Ding Liren in the World Championship in Singapore in mid-December. Carlsen had the highest GI score among all World Chess Championships, with 160.13, while India's Viswanathan Anand had a highest GI of 158.69.

Tamil Nadu native Praggnanandhaa was a teammate of World Chess Champion D Gukesh at last year's Chess Olympiad that India won. Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and P Harikrishna were the other members of the triumphant Olympiad squad.

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How is GI score calculated?
"The GI score combines human performance and engine analysis to measure players' ability to optimise risk vs reward. It increases with winning points and performing well against stronger opposition, but it decreases with 'mistakes' according to Stockfish.

"After analyzing millions of games, I benchmarked the average chess player's GI score at 100, with about 68% of players scoring between 85 and 115. Super tournament winners typically achieve a GI score of 160 or higher," posted Dr Ismail.

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