Just have to say,the news about R. Praggnanandhaa is making my day . Seeing Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself admiring his victory against Magnus Carlsen is just another level of proud moment for Indian chess.
And this wasn't just some fluke win . This is the second time Praggnanandhaa has beaten World No. 1 in Norway Chess tournament only. First he did it with white pieces,and now he repeated it with black in Round 8.
Beating Carlsen with black pieces is not small thing ah .
The game was apparently very tight until end . Reports say Carlsen got into time trouble and that's where our boy Pragg just capitalized on the opportunity . It shows his mental strength,not just his skill on the board .
And tbh,this is what is so impressive . He now has three classical victories against the five-time world champion . He's also only the second Indian after great Viswanathan Anand to defeat Carlsen twice in single tournament .
Few key things from this match:
- This is Pragg's third classical win against Carlsen overall.
- He defeated Carlsen with both white and black pieces in same tournament .
- win puts him very close to top of the Norway Chess leaderboard.
I also saw Anand Mahindra's post on social media . He called Pragg "impraggnable" and said it seems Carlsen is getting used to losing to him . That's such a cool and playful way to put it,but it also shows how dynamic is changing.
With this win,Praggnanandhaa has 12 points in total . He is just behind Wesley So who has 14 points and Alireza Firouzja with 13 . It's a very tight race for the title right now.
The whole thing is just so exciting for future of Indian chess . We have such amazing young talent coming up and they are not just competing,they are winning against best in world .
It just feels like a new era is starting for us on the global stage... makes you wonder what these young players will achieve next .
