Indian chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa has once again defeated five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, marking his second victory over the Norwegian in just three days at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas.
Another Victory for Pragg
The latest win for Praggnanandhaa came late Saturday evening during the classification games, securing him a third-place finish at the event. This follows his earlier triumph over Carlsen in a classification game to determine quarter-final spots.
Carlsen had managed to win the reverse game on Saturday, pushing the contest into tiebreaks. However, it was Pragg, playing with white pieces, who ultimately prevailed, forcing Carlsen to resign after 43 moves in their first tiebreak game.
The Game Breakdown: Position 414
The match was played under a 10-minute time control, featuring a unique setup known as Position No. 414. This starting arrangement places knights on one side of the king and bishops on the other, with rooks in their usual corner positions. Interestingly, the kings also began on their e-squares, allowing for familiar castling moves early on.
Despite the potential for traditional play, the game quickly diverged. By the fourth move, both players had formed an ‘X’ with their pawns in the center, neither capturing nor directly engaging for a few moves.
Praggnanandhaa swiftly gained an advantage, with the evaluation bar showing him in the lead as early as the 10th move. Carlsen also found himself with significantly less time on his clock, a disadvantage noted by commentators like Vincent Keymer.
Key Moments and Carlsen’s Sacrifice
A crucial moment arrived on move 18 when Carlsen made the bold decision to sacrifice his powerful queen in exchange for a bishop and a knight from Pragg’s forces. This move dramatically altered the board dynamics.
However, Pragg made an error on move 21, pushing his queen to b2. He likely misjudged the vulnerability of Carlsen’s rook, which was, in fact, well-guarded. Carlsen capitalized immediately, capturing Pragg’s second bishop and leveling the playing field.
Yet, Pragg remained resilient. He managed to regain his advantage by move 41 with a decisive rook move (41. Rc7). At this point, Carlsen recognized that a checkmate was unavoidable and promptly resigned.
Carlsen’s Las Vegas Struggles
This event proved challenging for Carlsen overall. While he started with two wins, he then faced losses against both Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So. Subsequent draws meant he needed a final-round victory to force a tiebreak, which he achieved against Bibisara Assaubayeva.
However, Carlsen then lost both playoff games to Levon Aronian, which led to his elimination from the Winners’ Bracket race. Carlsen attributed his performance decline to the tournament’s isolating conditions, stating it was “a complete collapse of my nervous system” due to not being able to communicate with his coach or wife between rounds.
What is Freestyle Chess?
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is a new series of global chess events, conceptualized by Germany’s Jan Henric Buettner. It aims to emulate the prestigious Grand Slams found in tennis.
Initially, the 2025 tour was planned for various international cities including Weissenhaus, Paris, New York, New Delhi, and Cape Town. However, some changes have occurred, with the New York event relocating to Las Vegas and the planned India event being canceled.
- Praggnanandhaa defeated Magnus Carlsen twice in three days at the Las Vegas event.
- The latest win secured Praggnanandhaa a third-place finish.
- Carlsen cited a “complete collapse of my nervous system” due to event conditions for his performance.
Praggnanandhaa’s consistent performance against the world’s top player continues to mark him as a formidable force in the chess world.
