Indian Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa Beats Magnus Carlsen at Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas

New Delhi (India) July 17: Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in a dominating Round 4 match. It made a strong impression at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas. 

Big win in just 39 moves

The 19-year-old destroyed the Norwegian great in just 39 moves. It can be described as a career-defining performance. It confirms his growing prominence on the international chess scene. 

The Grand Slam's Las Vegas leg is particularly significant because Carlsen co-founded the competition. It is based on the cutting-edge Freestyle (Chess960) format.

The fact that the Indian defeated the tournament's founder on his own field increased the significance of his victory.

Pragg leads Group White

While using the white pieces, Praggnanandhaa maintained complete control of the game. He recorded an impressive 93.9% accuracy rate as compared to Carlsen's very low 84.9%. Praggnanandhaa outplayed Carlsen in the 10-minute + 10-second increment encounter with calmness. 

He has now defeated Carlsen in all three of the main time formats—Classical, Rapid, and Blitz. The victory led him to the top in Group White at the moment.  

Carlsen's campaign in Las Vegas got off to a strong start. He defeated Vincent Keymer and Levon Aronian back-to-back. However, halfway through the group stage, things started to go south. 

The defeat to Praggnanandhaa in Round 4 was a turning moment after a tie with Javokhir Sindarov in Round 3. In Round 5, he lost to American Wesley. In Round 6, he drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Carlsen defeated Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan to complete the group stage. But his four points were insufficient. He has to play against Aronian for the last elimination slot from Group White for the playoffs.

In a shocking turn of events, Carlsen lost both of his playoff games. He ended with the fifth spot and lost just before the quarterfinals.

Praggnanandhaa drew with Sindarov and Abdusattorov for 4.5 points. But he won on tiebreaks to secure the top spot in Group White. He reached the championship bracket because of his victories over Carlsen, Keymer and Assaubayeva and draws with So and Sindarov. 

Arjun moves ahead, Vidit out

Arjun Erigaisi, another Indian general manager also reached from Group Black. He finished third after Hans Niemann and Hikaru Nakamura. However, Vidit Gujrathi finished last in the same group and left the event early.

Two eight-player rounds included the White Group and the Black Group. They were held on the first day of the event in the ballroom of the Wynn Las Vegas hotel. The top four players from each group reach the top bracket. The worst four move on to a placement bracket. They will compete for final rankings and cash.

Aadrika Tayal