That Magnus Carlsen loses is always great news – because it happens very occasionally – but even more so if he is swept off the board by an 18-year-old wonder, the Indian Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 11th in the world after his brand-new victory today in the 3rd round of Norway Chess in Stavanger (Norway). And it is even more so if the Scandinavian saw himself close to victory when he was actually lost, as he later acknowledged. His defeat, the 2nd this year in the classic (slow) mode, shortens the distance between him and the number two, the American Fabiano Caruana, winner of the Chinese Liren Ding, current world champion in the recovery phase after a long illness.
“I didn’t see the winning maneuvers of Pragg. I thought I had a clear pawn advantage and that I was going to win,” Carlsen acknowledged in his quick conversation with TV2, one of the two Norwegian channels that follow the tournament live (the other is NRK, with a still very large media deployment). elderly). The reporter then told him some words that the American Hikaru Nakamura, 3rd in the world at 36 years old, had just said after beating the sudden death to the Frenchman Alireza Firouzja: “I have the impression that Magnus takes risks, perhaps excessively, against the young stars, but not against us, the older ones.” And Carlsen admitted: “There may be some truth to that.”
Meanwhile, one floor above, Praggnanandhaa was giving two live interviews, to TV2 and Chess.com (120 million users) with the attitude of someone who goes to the office on any given day. “But aren’t you radiant with joy?” the TV2 presenter asked him: “Well, yes, beating Magnus is, of course, a great achievement,” the Indian responded with the same tone as if he were saying that he had left of raining He only stated anything substantial when Danny Rensch, chief content officer of Chess.com, commented: “Until recently you were a very promising child prodigy, but now you can beat anyone.” And finally, the hero of the day revealed: “Yes, now I think I can beat any of them if I play at my highest level, although that happens less often than I would like.” His balance with Carlsen in classical chess now stands at one victory each and four draws.
The truth is that Praggnanandhaa beat one of the best chess players in history in such a way that all the experts present at the tournament headquarters were very impressed. It is true that the Norwegian’s thirteenth attempt is an inappropriate mistake for him, because he gave the impression of not sensing danger when it was evident that his delay in development forced him to be very careful. It is possible that your new habit of playing 18 holes of golf in the morning involves excessive physical strain. Furthermore, it contradicts what he himself has maintained since his adolescence: he never got up before noon because any amount of energy he expended in the morning could be very necessary during the game. And it is also worth remembering that Carlsen does not usually perform at his best in the first rounds of tournaments, and especially in his country, with all the focus on him. Finally, it is worth insisting that Carlsen’s statement after the game is difficult to believe and indicates that he was having a very bad day: his position could not be a winner with a totally passive rook, locked in a corner.
But, even if all that is true, Praggnanandhaa’s game deserves all the praise you want to give it. It is always said that winning a winning position is usually not easy. And even less so if the opponent is Carlsen and if the position requires computer precision and a sophistication typical of the finest players in history. Praggnanandhaa, whose main weakness until now has been the lack of murderous instinct, signed a masterpiece today to take advantage of a bad day number one.
Ding’s loss to Caruana can only be attributed to the world champion still being far below his best after suffering serious sleep problems for almost a year. After correctly performing his first 24 moves, the Chinese omitted a fairly predictable combination from his rival, and was lost. If he had made the more obvious defensive play, his position would have been very defendable, with only a slight disadvantage. This victory places Caruana only 14.2 points behind Carlsen on the world list; It is still a considerable distance, but much less than usual.
In the women’s tournament, the great paradox of the Swedish Pía Cramling, astonishing in her sporting longevity, remains. Her third consecutive draw, this time against the world champion, Wenjun Ju, consolidates her in 26th place in the world at the age of 61, with the important nuance that today she has omitted a winning shot two sets before signing the tie. The worst thing for her is that she realized this as soon as the game ended, which undoubtedly influenced the loss of a pawn at the beginning of the game. sudden deathwhich also ended in a draw (but Cramling was playing white, which gives the victory to Jun according to the tournament rules).
The author of this chronicle does not remember any other situation where two brothers, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Rameshbabu Vaishali – in India the surname is said first and then the name – lead two simultaneous tournaments, one absolute and the other female. With the important difference that today should be one of the happiest days in the life of Pragg. But, at least outwardly, he is unfazed.
Results (3rd round).-
In Norway Chess, every game that ends in a draw is immediately followed (less than 20 minutes) by a Armageddon, with 10 minutes for the white pieces and 7 for the black pieces; In the event of a new tie, the black player wins. Victory in the slow game gives 3 points (zero for the loser); in Armageddon, 1.5 (1 for the loser).
Absolute tournament: Praggnanandhaa – Carlsen, 1-0; Nakamura – Firouzja, draw, 1-0; Caruana – Ding, 1.0.
Women’s tournament: A. Muzychuk – Vaishali, draw, 0-1; Koneru–Lei; draws, 1-0; Cramling – Ju, planks, planks.
Classifications.-
1st Praggnanandhaa 5.5; 2nd Caruana 5; 3rd Nakamura 4; 4th Firouzja 3.5; 5th Carlsen 3 points; 6th Ding 2.5.
Women’s tournament: 1st Vaishali 5.5; 2nd Ju 4,5; 3rd Law 4; 4th-6th A. Muzychuk, Cramling and Koneru 3.
to weekly newsletter ‘Wonderful play’, by Leontxo García
