In the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam semifinal in Las Vegas, Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated world number one Magnus Carlsen with an incredible performance.
The 19-year-old Indian prodigy defeated Carlsen 1-0 in the first game while using white pieces, according to Chess.com. The early victory demonstrated his developing self-assurance and skill on the international scene.
Carlsen, on the other hand, responded in the second game, squaring the score and then winning both blitz tiebreakers to win 2-0 and go to the final. Carlsen was defeated by Praggnanandhaa in just 39 moves during a dominant Round 4 performance prior to the semifinal. In Group A, he won three straight games, making him the most reliable player in his group.
He demonstrated his confident play against a five-time world champion in the match, which was played in increments of 10 minutes plus 10 seconds.
The rise of Praggnandha
Praggnandha won three in a row from round two to round four, demonstrating consistency in Group A. He was incredibly composed and defeated Carlsen with a convincing 10-minute plus 10-second increase in each round. In order to secure third place in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, Praggnandha will now go on world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura. The world chess community was rocked earlier in the week when Praggnanandhaa startled the World No. 1 with just 39 moves. In these two consecutive triumphs, the Indian defeated Carlsen for the second and third time in his brief but significant career.
Carlsen was easily defeated by Arjun Erigaisi, another Indian grand master, who fell 2-0 in the semifinals. In spite of his loss, Praggnandha has become a well-known figure on the international chess scene.
The fall of Magnus
Carlsen’s hopes of making it to the Winners’ Bracket were dashed after he lost to Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So, then to Levon Aronian in a double playoff loss. Carlsen had started the tournament with a lot of wins. Carlsen candidly discussed his performance in an interview with the tournament’s official YouTube channel, describing it as a “complete collapse.” He mentioned mental exhaustion, loneliness, and not interacting with his wife and coach in between rounds as contributory concerns.
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