India's chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa delivered a stunning performance at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas, defeating world No 1 Magnus Carlsen in just 39 moves during Round 4 of the group stage. The 19-year-old’s victory adds to his remarkable feat of having now defeated Carlsen in all three major formats – Classical, Rapid, and Blitz.
“Magnus about to resign... and he does!” exclaimed the commentator, as Praggnanandhaa sealed the win.
The tournament, featuring a 10+10 time control, saw Praggnanandhaa begin with a draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, followed by victories over Bibisara Assaubayeva, Vincent Keymer, and Carlsen. With 4.5 points, he now shares the top spot in Group White with Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov.
Meanwhile, Carlsen, despite winning the previous Grand Slam events in Paris and Karlsruhe, had a turbulent chase. After two initial wins, he suffered losses to Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So, followed by two draws. A final-round win over Assaubayeva only earned him a tiebreak, where he was eliminated by Levon Aronian.2`,
Carlsen has now “dropped into the lower bracket, where he can finish no higher than third,” reported NDTV.
In Group Black, Hikaru Nakamura dominated with 6/7, advancing to the knockout stage alongside Hans Niemann, Fabiano Caruana, and Arjun Erigaisi. Caruana, who drew his first six games, edged into the top four after a must-win against Niemann.
The Freestyle Chess tournament, held at Wynn Las Vegas, featured two eight-player round-robin groups. The top four from each group advanced to the title bracket, while the bottom four moved to a placement bracket – no longer in contention for the $200,000 top prize.
With Praggnanandhaa leading the charge, India's presence continues to grow in the elite chess scene.
