World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen achieved a significant victory over Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the seventh round of Norway Chess 2024 on Tuesday. Carlsen defeated Praggnanandhaa in the Armageddon tiebreaker after their classical game in Stavanger ended in a draw.
This win marked a crucial moment for Carlsen, as he took a one-point lead in the open section of Norway Chess. The local favorite, Carlsen, extended his remarkable record to 14.5 out of 15 with White pieces in the tournament.
Carlsen’s victory allowed him to go one point ahead of his nearest rival, Hikaru Nakamura, in the standings. Praggnanandhaa remains in the third spot with 12 points, maintaining his chances of winning the tournament. Each of the six players has two more rounds to play, with Praggnanandhaa set to face World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana next on June 6.
Earlier in the tournament, Praggnanandhaa had stunned Carlsen by registering his first win over the World No. 1 in the Classical format. Their encounter on Tuesday was a hard-fought draw in the Classical game, where both players exhibited a mix of aggression and caution. However, Carlsen demonstrated his prowess with White in the Armageddon tiebreaker. Despite Praggnanandhaa’s efforts to equalize, Carlsen secured the victory and took 1.5 points from the game.
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In other matches of the day in the Open section, World Champion Ding Liren showed improved form by defeating Fabiano Caruana in the Armageddon tiebreaker. Additionally, Alireza Firouzja contributed to Carlsen’s lead by beating Hikaru Nakamura in the Armageddon tiebreaker.
Standings in the Open Section After Round 8:
- Magnus Carlsen – 14.5
- Hikaru Nakamura – 13.5
- R Praggnanandhaa – 12
- Alireza Firouzja – 11
- Fabiano Caruana – 9
- Ding Liren – 4.5
In the Women’s section, GM Vaishali ended a two-game losing streak by winning the Armageddon tiebreaker against Anna Muzychuk. However, India’s Koneru Humpy lost to Lei Tingjie in the Classical game. The race in the Women’s section is intensifying, with R Vaishali in third place with 11.5 points, trailing leader Ju Wenjun by 3 points and second-placed Anna Muzychuk by 1.5 points.
Norway Chess offers a total prize fund of USD 160,000 for both the Open and Women’s sections. Six players will compete against each other twice in classical chess from May 27 to June 7.
