Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani on Sunday lauded Indian teen chess sensation R Praggnanandhaa following his stunning victory over world number one Magnus Carlsen and world number two Fabiano Caruana at the ongoing Norway Chess competition.
Indian teenage chess sensation R Pragananadhaa continued with his dominating ways in the ongoing Norway Chess competition as he defeated the world number two player Fabiano Caruana in round five in a classical chess game on Saturday night.
“Incredible Praggnanandhaa! Beating both World No.1 Magnus Carlsen and No.2 Fabiano Caruana in classical chess at #NorwayChess is mindblowing. You’re on a roll and still just 18! Keep the tricolour flying high. All the very best, @rpraggnachess!,” said Adani on his official X handle.
Incredible Praggnanandhaa! Beating both World No.1 Magnus Carlsen and No.2 Fabiano Caruana in classical chess at #NorwayChess is mindblowing. You’re on a roll and still just 18! Keep the tricolour flying high. All the very best, @rpraggnachess! 🙏 https://t.co/HJfCXA1UBl
— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) June 2, 2024
With this win, he achieved a first in classic chess, defeating both the top-ranked player in the world, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, and the second-ranked player, Caruana.
In addition, his valiant performance in the current tournament has vaulted him into the top ten of the FIDE World Chess Rankings.
In the third round, the 18-year-old had overcome Carlsen. The FIDE Chess World Cup runners-up of the previous year used white pieces to challenge Carlsen with some shrewd tactics in order to win.
Pragananadhaa had defeated Carlsen in blitz and rapid chess games earlier in his young career.
A day after defeating five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen in his first-ever classical match, India’s top prodigy Praggnanandhaa R went down against America’s Hikaru Nakamura in Round 4 of the Norway Chess 2024 at the SpareBank 1 SR-Bank on Thursday.
In an attempt to salvage the match, Praggnanandhaa offered a knight as a sacrifice, but Nakamura was well-prepared. Anticipating this exact sacrifice, Nakamura performed beautifully, winning convincingly and moving up to the lead of the overall standings.
Conversely, Pragg’s sister Vaishali maintained her unbeaten streak, triumphing over the illustrious Pia Cramling to increase her advantage to 8.5 points.
Grandmaster Humpy, the Indian woman in chess, lost her classical match against Anna Muzychuk in the fourth round. In the fourth Armageddon tiebreak of the Norway Chess Women’s Tournament, Ju Wenjun defeated her countryman Lie Tengjie in another thrilling match.
In the Norway Chess main event, local hero Carlsen secured three points with a close victory over Fabiano Caruana. The originally tranquil game suddenly took a dramatic turn in the endgame, costing Caruana a wonderful opportunity to cut the difference between him and Carlsen’s rating to only four points. With seconds remaining on his clock, Caruana made a mistake, which allowed Carlsen to take advantage of a tiny lead and win.
Ahead of the rest day, Alireza Firouzja earned three vital points by shocking the current World Champion, Ding Liren.
Norway Chess 2024 got off to a fast start, assembling the best chess players in the world for an intense battle that began on May 27 and will run through June 7 at SpareBank 1 SR-Bank.
In addition to the well-known Norway Chess tournament, this year’s event debuts Norway Chess Women, an all-female competition that showcases the world’s top female players. According to a news statement from Norway Chess, both events have equal prize money and a 6-player double round-robin format, highlighting a dedication to gender equality in chess.