World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen completed his revenge against a familiar foe and Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the seventh round of Norway Chess 2024 on Tuesday. Carlsen defeated Praggnanandhaa in the Armageddon tiebreaker after the two players settled for a draw in their classical game in Stavanger.
It was a big win for Magnus Carlsen in the reverse fixture as he took a one-point sole lead in the open section of Norway Chess. Carlsen, the local favourite, With the win, Carlsen extended his tally to an incredible 14.5 out of 15 with White in Norway Chess.
With the win, Carlsen went 1 point clear of nearest-rival Hikaru Nakamura in the standings in Norway Chess. Praggnanandhaa is at the third spot with 12 points and still has a chance to win the tournament. Each of the six players have two more rounds with Praggnanandhaa set to face World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana next on June 6.
Notably, Praggnanandhaa had stunned Magnus Carlsen in the earlier fixture in Norway Chess, registering his first win over the World No. 1 in Classical format.
Praggnananandhaa and Carlsen played out a hard-fought draw in the Classical game on Tuesday. Both players mixed aggression with caution and put on a show for the audience. However, Carlsen showcased his class with White in Armageddon tie-breaker. Praggnanandhaa gave it his all and came very close to equalising, but Carlsen got the job done and took 1.5 points from the game.
In the other games of the day in the Open section, world champion Ding Liren produced a much-improved performance, beating Fabiano Caruana in the Armageddon tie-breaker.
Alirea Firouzja helped Magnus Carlsen's cause by beating Hikaru Nakamura in the Armageddon tie-breaker.
STANDINGS IN OPEN SECTION AFTER ROUND 8
1. Magnus Carlsen - 14.5, 2. Hikaru Nakamura - 13.5, 3. R Praggnanandhaa 12, 4. Alireza Firoujza 11, 5. Fabiano Caruana - 9, 6. Ding Liren - 4.5.
In the women's section, GM Vaishali ended a two-game losing streak by winning Armageddon tiebreaker against Anna Muzychuk. India's Koneru Humpy, however, lost to Lei Tingjie in the Classical game.
The race is the women's section is also heating up as R Vaishali is at the third spot wth 11.5 points, 3 points behind leader Ju Wenjun and 1.5 points behind second-placed Anna Muzychuk.
Norway Chess offers USD 160,000 in prize funds for the Open and the Women's section. Six players will compete against each other twice in classical chess from May 27 to June 7.
