Praggnanandhaa claims maiden win in classical chess over Magnus Carlsen

Praggnanandhaa's sister R. Vaishali claimed the top spot in the women's competition

PTI08_21_2023_000254A

Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa clinched his first classical game victory over Magnus Carlsen, who is the world number one, in the Norway Chess tournament.

The 18-year-old took the sole lead in the tournament with 5.5 points in three rounds, kicking Carlsen to the fifth spot in the points table.

Praggnanandhaa has defeated Carlsen in rapid and exhibtion chess several times and this is the first time he beat the world No. 1 in classical chess, which is also called slow chess. In classical chess, players can take significant amount of time to make their moves, usually at least one hour.

In the previous three instances when the duo locked horns in the slow format, Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa struck a draw.

US player Hikaru Nakamura who won his Armageddon game against France's Alireza Firouzja, will be up against Praggnanandhaa in the fourth round.

Praggnanandhaa's sister R. Vaishali too claimed the top spot in the women's competition with 5.5 points. Her game against Anna Muzychuk was a draw.

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