Perhaps it’s time to lay off the hyperboles and surprised gasps. 18-year-old R Praggnanandhaa’s first classical win over five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen has arrived. It shouldn’t startle or astonish. It’s been building up to this moment.
The win arrived in Round 3 of Norway chess in the south-western Norwegian seaport city of Stavanger and had Carlsen sitting, palm pressed to his temple in the final moments, as the Indian swivelled and rocked in his chair wearing a business suit and a satisfied grin.
“I kind of feel that I have enough experience at this level. I can beat these players but I have to play my best for that. That’s the mindset,” Praggnananadhaa said in a cool, matter-of -fact reflection after beating the former world champion on his home turf. The Indian has previously defeated the world No 1 in faster time controls multiple times. In the classical format, Praggnanandhaa had three draws and a loss against Carlsen before his latest result.
Playing with the Black pieces, Carlsen opened with the rather edgy Paulsen variation (which he’s played earlier as well). Carlsen’s 13…Qd7 response to the Indian’s f5 strike was an inaccuracy and the evaluation bar leaped in White’s favour. It opened up active play for Praggnanandhaa who was operating at 99.6 percent accuracy to Carlsen’s 95.4 per cent.
“I wish Magnus would take these chances against me or against Fabi (Caruana),” Hikaru Nakamura offered in the confession booth. “I have this theory that when Magnus is playing the younger kids specifically he wants to sort of prove a point, he wants to go after them and try to beat them and he takes far more risks than he does against us old folks.”
The Indian was behind on the clock through the game and Carlsen’s ploy to throw off the young Indian with his dubious choice in the opening only went on to backfire.
The risks didn’t hold up for Carlsen. Choosing not to castle was another terrible call.
He made an attempt at salvaging a draw with 33…Qc5 but Praggnanandhaa was seasoned enough to see through the sneaky idea. The Indian pushed his rook to the seventh rank to cut off Black’s King and prevent the possibility of any counterplay. It didn’t take much time for the Indian to grind out the calculation and spot the winning 35…Kh2 move – evading checks in advance and leaving an exasperated Carlsen with no room for escape. Carlsen extended his hand in resignation after 37 moves, shook his head in self-flagellation and both players settled for a post-game dissection. Praggnanandhaa betrayed no emotion, almost as if this was the most expected result. He dominated the game from start to finish, was never in any real danger and managed to outwit the world No 1 with his monster calculation strengths and gumption.
“I shouldn’t be mentioning this because Magnus is one of my best friends out thereThe only way to beat him is..attack!” GM David Howell said on commentary, “Players respect him too much, swap out queens and try to play for a draw. Keeping the Queens on was inspired by Pragg, and his decision to go for attack.. impressive stuff.”
Praggnanandhaa’s win came on the birthday of fellow Indian, newly-minted World Championship challenger and the latest entrant to the 18 year olds’club – D Gukesh.
“Eight years ago on this day I became an IM (International Master) and we both were playing the same tournament in India,” Praggnanandhaa looked back, “We celebrated, ate cake together…I think I must play more on this day.”
Carlsen has been struggling in classical chess. He went winless in the last edition of Norway Chess, finishing sixth in the 10-player field. This time he finds himself with a defeat early in the tournament. Praggnanandhaa now leads the Open standings while his sister Vaishali heads the women’s section after three rounds. “Whether it’s a loss or win, I try not to let the emotion affect my next game,” Praggnanandhaa said, imparting sagely wisdom beyond his teen years, “I try, but I struggle sometimes.”