NEW DELHI: Indian
chess
prodigy R
Praggnanandhaa
achieved a significant victory by defeating world number one
Magnus Carlsen
in a
classical game
format. This match, which took place during the third round of the tournament, marked Praggnanandhaa's first classical win against Carlsen.
At just 18 years of age, Praggnanandhaa displayed his mettle on Carlsen's home ground, leading the open section of the six-player tournament after this victory.
Utilizing the white pieces, Praggnanandhaa, who was the runner-up in the previous year's FIDE Chess World Cup, executed a series of strategic moves to secure the win. Following this round, Praggnanandhaa led with a score of 5.5 out of nine points, while Carlsen dropped to the fifth position in the tournament standings.
Prior to this encounter, Praggnanandhaa had recorded victories over Carlsen in both rapid and blitz chess formats. The second round of the
Norway Chess
tournament saw all classical games ending in draws, with Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja, and Ding Liren winning their respective Armageddon games to each earn 1.5 points.
Praggnanandhaa, who had previously led 2-0 against World Champion Ding Liren, reached his first classical draw in this round before Ding Liren won the Armageddon tie-breaker.
The tournament also featured a closely contested classical game between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, which concluded in a draw. Carlsen later won the
Armageddon game
, demonstrating his skill in high-pressure situations and securing a lead in the tournament.
Alireza Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana also drew their classical game, with Firouzja winning the subsequent Armageddon game.
In the Norway Chess Women's Tournament,
Vaishali
R defeated
Koneru Humpy
, marking her first classical win against India's top female player. This victory propelled Vaishali to the second position among Indian women players in the live rating list.
Other matches in the women's tournament included draws between Lei Tingjie and Pia Cramling, and Ju Wenjun and Anna Muzychuk, with the Chinese players winning their Armageddon games.
The Norway Chess 2024 tournament, held from May 27 to June 7 at SpareBank 1 SR-Bank, features both the traditional Norway Chess tournament and the newly introduced Norway Chess Women tournament. Both tournaments follow a 6-player double round-robin format and offer equal prize funds.
(Inputs from ANI)
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