New Delhi, May 30: It was a moment of sheer delight for Indian chess siblings Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and his elder sister Rameshbabu Vaishali. They both held lead at their respective categories in the Norway Chess Tournament 2024.
Incidentally, Vaishali retained her sole lead position in the women's section of Norway Chess.
After Praggnanandhaa defeated world No 1 GM Magnus Carlsen for the first time in a classical game during round three of the 2024 Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger, netizens went into a frenzy over the Indian prodigy's significant achievement.
The 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster beat Carlsen on his home turf on white pieces, emerging as the sole leader with 5.5 points.
Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa had drawn their previous three encounters in this format, two of which in the 2023 World Cup final.
On Wednesday night, the 18-year-old Indian grandmaster punished Carlsen's risky play. Carlsen never castled and eventually lost as his king couldn't find a safe haven.
Following Pragg's win over world no 1 Norwegian, social media was flooded with congratulatory messages.
"Latest global sensation from India!," a fan wrote on X.
"Waking up to this mind blowing good news. #Praggnanandhaa, India’s 18-year-old chess prodigy, managed to defeat World No 1 #MagnusCarlsen for the first time in a classical game," another user added.
"This win is special indeed, defeating Carlsen in his home is no mean feat," a fan posted on X.
"Here’s the one who is making India proud. He is a hero oh no he is a champion! Many congratulations to Praggnanandhaa! Here’s a game he played against Magnus Carlsen and won. @rpraggnachess thank you," an X post read.
"R Praggnanandhaa you beauty. We surely have the next Vishwanathan Anand in the making," another user posted.
This year, the competition features not only the renowned Norway Chess tournament but also introduces Norway Chess Women, an all-female tournament showcasing the best female players globally.
Both tournaments follow a 6-player double round-robin format with equal prize funds, underscoring a commitment to gender equality in chess.
Full list of participants at Norway Chess 2024:
Men's category:
1. Magnus Carlsen (Norway), 2830, World No. 1
2. Fabiano Caruana (USA), 2804, World No. 2
3. Hikaru Nakamura (USA), 2788, World No. 3
4. World Champion Ding Liren (China), 2776, World No. 4
5. Alireza Firouzja (France), 2765, World No. 6
6. Praggnanandhaa R. (India), 2748, World No. 11
Women's Category: (ranking mentioned is in women's section):
1. Koneru Humpy (India), 2554, World No. 2
2. Lei Tingjie (China), 2550, World No. 4
3. Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun (China), 2547, World No. 5
4. Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine), 2525, World No. 7
5. Vaishali Rameshbabu (India), 2481, World No. 14
6. Pia Cramling (Sweden), 2437, World No. 31
Among the 12 participants, Praggnanandhaa, Koneru Humpy and Pragg's sister Vaishali Rameshbabu are the three Indians in the fray. (With IANS support)
