How 16-year-old R Praggnanandhaa stunned World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in 39 moves

16-year-old Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa made headlines on Monday for his stunning victory over World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the eighth round of the ongoing Airthings Masters. By earning the win with black pieces in 39 moves in a Tarrasch variation on Monday, R Praggnanandhaa denied Carlsen a fourth straight victory and received praises from the Indian chess enthusiasts. Praggananandhaa currently lies in joint 12th spot of the tournament table, having earned eight points in eight rounds so far.

How did Praggnanandhaa defeat World Champion Magnus Carlsen?

The young GM won the eighth round of the online rapid chess tournament with black in 39 moves using a Tarrasch variation game. The online game was played with a time control of 15+10. Following his win, Pragganandhaa joined the elite list of Indian chess players consisting of legend Vishwanathan Anand and P Harikrishna, by becoming the third Indian to beat Magnus Carsen in a tournament. 

Praggnanandhaa won against the World No. 1 on Monday following an average show on Saturday. He lost three back-to-back games to end the first day of the tournament, having started with a draw. On the other hand, Carlsen lost two rounds over Russians Andrey Esipenko and Ian Nepomniachtchi to be placed 11th ahead of his clash against the Indian youngster. With 7 rounds remaining in the preliminary stage, Pragganandhaa will look to continue his winning momentum in the tournament.

R Pragganandhaa's journey in chess

Pragganandhaa is the fifth youngest to become a Grandmaster, following the likes of Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Gukesh D, and Javokhir Sindarov. He first shot to fame after winning the World Youth Chess Championships Under-8 title in 2013, which earned him the FIDE Master title at the age of seven years old.

After winning the U-10 title in 2015, Praggnanandhaa went to become the youngest international master in 2016 at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days old. He became the then second-youngest person ever to achieve the rank of grandmaster at the age of 12 years, 10 months, and 13 days after defeating Luca Moroni in the eighth round of the Gredine Open in Urtijei in 2018.

(Image: PTI/AP)