National Desk, 30th May: In a historic triumph, Indian chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa defeated world number one Magnus Carlsen in a classical game during the third round of the Norway Chess 2024 tournament. This victory marks Praggnanandhaa’s first classical win against Carlsen, catapulting the 18-year-old to the top of the open section standings in the six-player tournament.
Praggnanandhaa, who was the runner-up in the previous year’s FIDE Chess World Cup, leveraged the white pieces to execute a series of strategic moves that secured his victory. This win elevated his score to 5.5 out of nine points, while Carlsen fell to fifth position in the standings.
Prior to this, Praggnanandhaa had defeated Carlsen in rapid and blitz chess formats. The second round of the Norway Chess tournament saw all classical games end in draws. However, Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja, and Ding Liren triumphed in their respective Armageddon games, each earning 1.5 points.
Praggnanandhaa had previously led 2-0 against World Champion Ding Liren, achieving his first classical draw in this round before Ding Liren won the Armageddon tie-breaker. Carlsen, known for his high-pressure gameplay, won his Armageddon match against Hikaru Nakamura after a tightly contested classical game, maintaining a lead in the tournament.
In the Norway Chess Women’s Tournament, Vaishali R secured a notable victory against Koneru Humpy, marking her first classical win against India’s top female player. This achievement propelled Vaishali to the second position among Indian women players in the live rating list. Other matches in the women’s tournament ended in draws, with Lei Tingjie and Pia Cramling, and Ju Wenjun and Anna Muzychuk all seeing the Chinese players win their Armageddon games.
The Norway Chess 2024 tournament, held from May 27 to June 7 at SpareBank 1 SR-Bank, includes both the traditional Norway Chess tournament and the inaugural Norway Chess Women tournament. Both tournaments follow a six-player double round-robin format and offer equal prize funds.
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