'He surprised me with...': R Praggnanandhaa on win against world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess 2024

NEW DELHI: The Norway Chess 2024 tournament witnessed a remarkable achievement by the 18-year-old Indian Chess prodigy, R Praggnanandhaa, as he secured a victory against the reigning World No. 1, Magnus Carlsen.
Despite Carlsen clinching his sixth Norway Chess title, Praggnanandhaa's triumph over the Norwegian chess legend was a significant milestone, especially considering his limited participation in classical tournaments recently.
"It was a difficult game. I knew I would face him in the third round. Before the game, I was ready for a fight because we both had made two draws in the first two games and I knew that he would come for a fight I was mentally ready for it and he surprised me with a new opening," Praggnanandhaa told ANI.
While the victory against Carlsen was undoubtedly the highlight, Praggnanandhaa's overall performance in the tournament was commendable.
In his final match against Hikaru Nakamura, who needed a win to secure the top spot, Praggnanandhaa held his ground and secured a draw. This result, coupled with his triumph in the tiebreak game, secured him a respectable third-place finish in his debut appearance at the Norway Chess tournament, behind Nakamura.
He acknowledged the psychological challenge of facing a formidable opponent like Carlsen and expressed his readiness for the intense battle.
"I got a very big advantage out of the opening and managed to convert it. It wasn't easy especially because he's a very good defender in bad positions but I think the position was the advantage which was it was good enough," the youngster asserted.
While he acknowledged room for improvement in his play during the main game, he recognized the distinct nature of the Armageddon format and did not dwell excessively on the outcome.

"The Armageddon game didn't go well for me at the start, but then I managed to find a good resource and come back. I wouldn't really put too much thought into the Armageddon game because it's a faster format. I was quite upset with my play in the main game," he added.
Finally, Praggnanandhaa's performance at the Norway Chess 2024 tournament served as a confidence booster, reinforcing his belief in his ability to compete on equal terms with the world's elite players.
"The Norway Chess tournament gave me a lot of confidence that I can fight these guys on equal terms. I knew that if I played my best, I could do that. I wouldn't necessarily say that I played my best in all the games in Norway, and even though I didn't really feel like I did that, still I managed to give... Yeah, still I managed to play in an equal strength to these players," the GM explained.