Las Vegas [US], July 17 : Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa secured a stunning victory over World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in a dominant Round 4 clash at the Las Vegas Chess Grand Slam Tour.
Praggnanandhaa was the most consistent player in group A. He scored three straight wins from rounds two to four, the latter of which was a gritty win over the pre-tournament favorite Carlsen, according to Chess.com.
The 19-year-old defeated the Norwegian master in only 39 moves in the match held on Wednesday, confirming his increasing position on the international chess scene and continuing a worrying trend for Carlsen against India's new generation of stars.
With a 10-minute plus 10-second increase in each round, Praggnanandhaa outplayed Carlsen with a poise and assurance that is seldom seen against the five-time world champion.
Praggnanandhaa holds the lead in Group White with Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov, all of whom have 4.5 points. His run featured the major shock over Carlsen, victories over Bibisara Assaubayeva and Vincent Keymer, and a draw against Abdusattorov.
Carlsen hit back and scored 1.5/2 in his final games and scraped into equal fourth, forcing a two-game tiebreaker against Aronian for a Quarterfinals spot.
GM Levon Aronian made a statement at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas on Wednesday by defeating GM Magnus Carlsen 2-0 in a tiebreak showdown, keeping his chances alive of winning the first prize, and in the process, condemning Carlsen to the lower bracket.
Aronian will be joined in the quarterfinals by fellow group A qualifiers, GMs Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Javokhir Sindarov, as well as group B's qualifiers: GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Hans Niemann, Arjun Erigaisi, and Fabiano Caruana.
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