Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 21: R Praggnanandhaa, a 16-year-old Indian Grandmaster, won his first-ever chess match against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen on Monday in the 8th round of Airthings Masters, an online rapid chess event.
In a Tarrasch variation game, Praggnanandhaa won with black pieces in just 19 moves, ending Carlsen’s three-match winning streak at the Airthings Masters.
After eight rounds, the Indian GM is tied for 12th place with eight points. His stunning triumph over Carlsen follows a mediocre performance in the earlier rounds, which included a single victory over Lev Aronian, two draws, and four losses.
Eric Hansen, Ding Liren, Jan-Kryzstof Duda, and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov were his opponents. He drew with Anish Giri and Quang Liem Le and lost against Eric Hansen, Ding Liren, Jan-Kryzstof Duda, and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, who lost the world championship match to Carlsen of Norway a few months ago, leads the standings with 19 points, followed by Ding Liren and Hansen (both on 15 points).
In the early rounds of the Airthings Masters, a 16-person online quick competition, a player receives three points for a win and one point for a tie. In the preliminary round, there are seven more rounds to go.
