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On Saturday, May 11, in the round 11 of the Poland leg of the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024, Magnus Carlsen suffered a tough loss against Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, due to which he was unable to take the lead in the tournament. Hours later, Magnus Carlsen spoke about how he felt like his nervous system collapsed during or after the pulsating contest versus Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.
The queen endgame, which went till 69 moves in total, saw Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa find himself a pawn up, which led to Magnus Carlsen offering his resignation. The win in this game would have pushed Magnus Carlsen within touching distance of Wei Yi, the leader of the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024.
As per the report from the Indian Express, Magnus Carlsen spoke to Cristian Chirila four hours after the game, and said, “I just didn’t have it today. I felt good from the start, but then I think my nervous system just collapsed during or after the game against Pragg, and after that I just sucked, honestly. The score was still half-decent, but obviously if Wei Yi continues to win then it doesn’t matter.”
Furthermore, Magnus Carlsen also spoke about what he intends to do on the final day of the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024 Poland leg, which is being played in Warsaw. He remarked, “Pretty much every game tomorrow is a must-win for sure.”
Wei Yi currently has 20.5 points in the Poland leg of the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024, leading Magnus Carlsen by 2.5 points. Rameshbabu Pragnanandhaa is a further four points behind the leader, hoping to change his fortunes on the last day of the competition.
