For the third time in just six months, 17-year-old Indian Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen, with the latest victory coming on Monday at the FTX Crypto Cup, the American finale of Champions Chess Tour, in Miami.
There was a sense of disbelief on the face of Magnus Carlsen when Praggnanandhaa defeated him in the blitz tiebreak after the score was tied 2-2 at the end of the regulation game.
Not the ending Magnus Carlsen would have wanted, as he blunders against Praggnanandhaa just when he was on the verge of forcing Armageddon! https://t.co/IbzJPYmpjn #ChessChamps #FTXCryptoCup pic.twitter.com/RYjbaO4WMZ
— chess24.com (@chess24com) August 21, 2022
Carlsen was on the verge of winning the game, but he blunders against Praggnanandhaa just when he was on the verge of forcing Armageddon.
Magnus won the event on the basis of a higher score, and Praggnanandhaa secured second.
It’s a done deal- Praggnanandhaa wins 3 games in a row and defeats Magnus Carlsen in the blitz playoffs! The boy has created history, and he finishes second in the @ChampChessTour FTX Crypto Cup. pic.twitter.com/KsWzw1TqGo
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) August 21, 2022
Praggnanandhaa had a great start in the tournament as he started off with four consecutive wins, including a thumping 3-1 win over world No.6 Levon Aronian. He had started his campaign with victory over Alireza Firouzja, the Indian GM has subsequently beaten Anish Giri and Hans Nieman.
Praggnanandhaa’s winning run came to an end at the hands of China’s Quang Liem Le in the fifth round. He suffered his second loss after he went down to Poland’s Jan-Krzystof Duda via the tie-break in the sixth round.
In February this year, Praggnanandhaa won praise for stunning world No 1 Carlsen in an online championship. Praggnanandhaa, 16, who in 2016 became the youngest international master in history at age 10, had beaten Carlsen at the Airthings Masters rapid chess tournament.
In May this year, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu defeated Magnus Carlsen at the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament.
