New Delhi: Indian Grand Master Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu registered his second win over world champion Magnus Carlsen in 2022. He made the game take a turn towards his side, following a late blunder from the Norwegian. The two young players played in the 5th round of the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament on May 20. Rameshbabu for the very beginning master stroked the game, reaching the knockout stage and ultimately winning over Carlsen.
The 5th round match at the USD 150,000 online tournament was in the middle of being a draw, however, one move by Carlsen change the whole appearance of the game. Carlsen’s misplaced black knight in his 40th move brought his sudden death.
Rameshbabu added 12 points to his name while Carlsen was second on the leaderboard behind China’s Wei Yi on Day 2 of the tournament. Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest Grand Master in the world has also participated in the 16-man tournament.
“I do not want to win that way!” says Praggnanandhaa of his win after Carlsen blundered: https://t.co/J2cgFmhKbT #ChessChamps #ChessableMasters pic.twitter.com/SNOSx8CHgN
— chess24.com (@chess24com) May 20, 2022
Moreover, Rameshbabu, the 16-year-old champ beat Carlsen for the first time in February at Airthings Masters, an online rapid chess tournament. He won with the black pieces to put an end to the latter’s 3-match winning run at the Airthings Masters in just 19 moves in a Tarrasch variation game.
“I think it’s about just going to bed,” Praggnanandhaa had famously said after beating Carlsen when asked how he would celebrate the victory.
Interestingly, Rameshbabu wasn’t happy with his second win over Carlsen, although he seized 3 crucial points that keep him on the hunt.
Notably, Rameshbabu lost to Carlsen 3-0 in the best of four contestants with the latter making up his loss from February the Oslo Esports Cup in April.
