Indias R Praggnanandhaa, 16, stuns chess World No 1 Magnus Carlsen

India’s 16-year-old Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa
defeated world no 1 Magnus Carlsen in the eighth round of the Airthings
Masters, an online rapid chess tournament. Praggnanandhaa won with black pieces
in 39 moves in a Tarrasch variation game early on Monday to halt Carlsen’s run
of three straight wins.

Also Read: Who is Praggnanandhaa, the Indian teenager to stun World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen?

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

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

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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).

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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.

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Coach reacts       

“His results in the past six months has swung between
extremes. In some games he has been playing like a 2750 player, in others he’s
operating at a 2550 level,” Praggnanandhaa’s coach RB Ramesh told ESPN India.
“The fluctuation can be worrying and needs to be stabilised. This win against
Magnus is important. Beating one of the strongest players in chess history is a
huge moment for him.”

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“This is such a massive moment, if Pragg scores this
win here it is going to be such a massive moment,” Indian player Tania Sachdev
who was on commentary said towards the closing stages of the match and called
it a historic moment at the end of the match when Carlsen resigned.

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Peter Leko, Hungarian Grandmaster said at the end of
the match, “Absolutely. Let’s not forget Pragg already beat Levon [Aaronian].
Sensational, I can understand now what’s happening in India. Everybody goes
crazy, no? It’s incredible, with a powerful performance. It’s not like a lucky
win.”