Miracles do happen and who better to put life to this maxim than a 16-year-old Indian grandmaster, R Praggnanandhaa who stunned reigning world champion, Magnus Carlsen in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters, a tournament hosted online.
The Mozart of Chess’ streak of three blistering wins smashed a roadblock as an young Praggnanandhaa left him drubbed in span of 39 moves. The young Indian played a Tarrasch variation with black pieces.
Sadly, for the Indian wunderkind, he has so far had a moderate tournament as he could only garner 8 points and is in the 12th position of the players’ list.
Before he got the better of the world champion, he could rack up just a solitary win over Lev Aronian while his other games starred a couple of draws and four defeats.
He shared the spoils of war against Anish Giri and Quang Liem Le while defeats came at the hand of Eric Hansen, Ding Liren, Jan-Kryzstof Duda and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
Hailing all the way from Russia, Ian Nepomniachtchi is currently stationed at the ace with 19 points and is being pursued by Ding Liren and Hansen who are jointly on 15 points.
In the Airthings Masters the tournament is played between 16 players as a win guarantees you 3 points while a draw earns you 1.
Twitter couldn’t hold back from emoting their thrill and happiness as the kid from India pulled off the unimaginable, a feat that has placed him in the same pedestal of wins against formidable stalwarts as that of the iconic Vishy.
What a wonderful feeling it must be for Pragg. All of 16, and to have beaten the experienced & decorated Magnus Carlsen, and that too while playing black, is magical!
AdvertisementBest wishes on a long & successful chess career ahead. You’ve made India proud! pic.twitter.com/hTQiwznJvX
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 21, 2022
Little past 2am in India on Monday, 16 yr-old GM R Praggnanandhaa had one of the biggest moments of his young career so far. A win with Black over world champion Magnus Carlsen in the Airthings Masters, a 16-player online rapid tournament. Massive for Pragg! #AirthingsMasters pic.twitter.com/7kCnS1xsAg
— Susan Ninan (@ninansusan) February 21, 2022
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Praggnanandhaa beats World Champion Magnus Carlsen with the black pieces at the Airthings Masters 2022. It was an online game with a time control of 15+10.
Until now the only Indians to beat Magnus in a tournament game have been Anand and P. Harikrishna. Pragg now joins the list! pic.twitter.com/ZX1emeY9v6— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) February 20, 2022
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Praggnanandhaa, 16, stuns World No. 1 Carlsen in Airthings Masters chess https://t.co/WeLzfXGXvi pic.twitter.com/a4G3PQRNBV
— Ananth Krishnan (@ananthkrishnan) February 21, 2022
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Congratulate young Indian Grandmaster R #Praggnanandhaa on his stunning victory over reigning World Champion GM #MagnusCarlsen during ongoing #AirthingsMasters Chess Tournament. Wish him all the best for the future. #OdishaForSports
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) February 21, 2022
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Wow! Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 12, from the tiny township of Padi in West Chennai, second youngest Grandmaster, stunned World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in the 8th round of Airthings Masters, an online rapid chess tournament. He won with black in 39 moves in a Tarrasch variation game. pic.twitter.com/nOnb71C5Xb
— Pritish Nandy (@PritishNandy) February 21, 2022
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🔥🇮🇳 WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT! 16-year old @rpragchess becomes only the third Indian to beat World Champion Magnus Carlsen👏🏻#Praggnanandhaa #AirthingsMasters #FIDE #BharatArmy
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) February 21, 2022
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