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On Wednesday, May 29, the Indian grandmaster, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, defeated the former world champion from Norway, Magnus Carlsen, for the first-time in classical chess. The 18-year-old achieved the big feat in the third round of the Norway Chess 2024 tournament, taking the sole lead with 5.5 points, half a point ahead of the American Fabiano Caruana.
Magnus Carlsen took the big decision of not castling his king against Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, which ended up being a very big factor for him in losing the match. After employing the Paulsen/Kan variation of the Sicilian, Carlsen made a serious inaccuracy on move 13, following which Praggnanandhaa consolidated the position with machine-like accurate moves to register a comprehensive win.
“I kind of feel that I have enough experience at this level and I can beat these players, but I have to play my best for that and that’s what I’m trying to do. That’s kind of the mindset,” said Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa after defeating Magnus Carlsen.
Hikaru Nakamura had a tongue-in-cheek remark in the confession booth about the Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa-Magnus Carlsen match from the round third of the Norway Chess 2024. He said, “I wish Magnus would take these chances against me or against Fabi. 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!”
