Norway Chess round 8: Pragg beats Carlsen again, Wesley So leads on the top with 14 points

OSLO: The prospect of Magnus Carlsen losing two classical games to the same player in one tournament appears unthinkable — due to his strength and rarity of double round-robin events. It’s even more unthinkable the way he lost to R Praggnanandhaa.


The 20-year-old Indian was rewarded with his second win over the world No. 1 in the Norway Chess tournament at the Oslo Public Library on Tuesday. Carlsen, 35, suffered his fourth defeat in the meet (like in 2015) but still has mathematical chances to win the title.







Carlsen told the TV broadcast that he was so “talentless” that he forgot that Praggnanandhaa’s bishop was unpinned and that could join in the attack against his king. Carlsen is languishing at the fifth spot in a six-player field. But Praggnanandhaa felt it would be incorrect to say the home boy’s chess prowess is on the wane. “The quality of his games is still very high,” said Praggnanandhaa, “Just that he is making decisive mistakes under time pressure.”


Not just decisive, uncharacteristic. Praggnanandhaa, who had lost to Carlsen in the 2023 World Cup final via rapid tiebreaks, said he always felt “excited” about playing against Carlsen and “not intimidated.”


Whether the younger players are taking over the mantle from Carlsen, he said a bunch of youngsters are already among the top players in the world and it is expected that they would beat Carlsen some time or the other. “Carlsen is having off days by his standards,” said Praggnanandhaa, “He is still the best. But winning three out of four against him in Norway (counting a win in 2024) is too much.”


Earlier in the day during an opening phase, Carlsen visited a confession box and peppered his take with humour. He consumed more than 64 minutes for his first 13 moves. Praggnanandhaa took less than 10 minutes in that phase.

Wesley leads Firouzja


Wesley So defeated Vincent Keymer with white pieces in Armageddon. The American leads with 14 points with two rounds to go. Except Gukesh, everyone remained in contention.