On Saturday, R Praggnanandhaa created history in the Norway Chess Competition by defeating world number two Fabiano Caruana in round five. This win followed his earlier victory against world number one Magnus Carlsen in round three, marking his first time defeating both top players in classical chess. His outstanding performance has elevated him to the top ten of the FIDE World Ranking.
The official Norway Chess handle on X praised his accomplishment. It read, “Pragg is back! Praggnanandhaa, a young prodigy, once again stuns the chess world by defeating World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana in Round 5!”
Hikaru Nakamura of America defeated Praggnanandhaa in round four after outmanoeuvring him due to better preparation. Meanwhile, his sister Vaishali maintained her impressive form, defeating Pia Cramling and increasing her lead to 8.5 points. The Indian Women’s Grandmaster Humpy Koneru lost against Anna Muzychuk, while Ju Wenjun defeated Lie Tengjie in an armageddon tiebreak.
Norway Chess 2024, which includes both men’s and women’s competitions, began on May 27 and will run until June 7 at SpareBank 1 SR-Bank. The event features elite players in a 6-player double round-robin format with equal prize money to promote gender equality in chess.
