Magnus Carlsen was very close to the top spot at the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024 on Saturday when he sat against Indian phenom R Praggnanandhaa in Round 11 on Saturday at Warsaw.
After a 69-move battle, the game went into a queen endgame with Pragg a pawn up, Carlsen finally resigned after and later opened up about how deeply that game against Praggnanandhaa had affected him.
“Pretty much every game tomorrow is a must-win for sure,” Carlsen admitted. Sunday is the final day of the Warsaw leg at the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz.
He opened up about the blemishing battle against Praggnanandhaa in Round 11.
“I just didn’t have it today. I felt good from the start, but then I think my nervous system just collapsed during or after the game against Pragg, and after that I just sucked, honestly. The score was still half-decent, but obviously if Wei Yi continues to win then it doesn’t matter,” Carlsen told grandmaster Cristian Chirila four hours later.
“I have no sense of anything with a few seconds,” Carlsen later admitted.
It must be noted that Praggnanandhaa himself didn’t recover after that win over Carlsen.
The 18-year-old from India was within just one point of Carlsen in third place, but after beating the World No 1, he lost the next two games.