India’s R Praggnanandhaa stuns World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen at Airthings Masters chess tournament

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Feb 21, 2022: 16-year-old Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa clinched his first-ever victory over World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in any form of chess in the 8th round of Airthings Masters, an online rapid chess tournament on Monday.

 

Praggnanandhaa won with black pieces to end Carlsen’s 3-match winning run at the Airthings Masters in just 19 moves in a Tarrasch variation game.

The Indian GM lies in joint 12th spot after eight rounds with eight points. His spectacular win over Carlsen comes after a moderate run in the earlier rounds, which included a solitary victory over Lev Aronian, two draws and four defeats.

Asked what he would do to celebrate the stunning victory over Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa said: "I think it’s about just going to bed," as reported by Chess24.

He drew against Anish Giri and Quang Liem Le and lost to Eric Hansen, Ding Liren, Jan-Kryzstof Duda and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, who lost the world championship match a few months ago to the Norwegian world no 1 Carlsen, is on top of the standings with 19 points followed by Ding Liren and Hansen (both on 15 points).

In the Airthings Masters, a 16-player online rapid tournament, a player gets three points for a win and one for a draw in the preliminary rounds. Seven more rounds remain in the preliminary phase.

Courtesy:India Today