India’s R Praggnanandhaa defeated the world number two Fabiano Caruana in the fifth round of the Norway Chess tournament at Stavanger on Saturday night.
This victory meant that the Indian had defeated both the top two players in classical chess, propelling him into the top ten of the FIDE World Rankings.
In the fourth round, Praggnanandhaa lost to America’s Hikaru Nakamura halting his momentum after defeating the World No 1 Magnus Carlsen for the first time in a classical game in the previous round.
Praggnanandhaa’s sister, R Vaishali extended her lead by checkmating Lei Tingjie of China in Armageddon tie-breaker.
In the Norway Chess main event, Nakamura emerged victorious over World Champion Ding Liren. For the first time in nine years, Nakamura is rated over 2800 after handing a third defeat in a row to Liren, who is out of the top ten in the live rating lists.
In another exciting match, Magnus Carlsen emerged victorious over Alireza Firouzja in a classical game. Carlsen, with a total of nine points, is just a point behind Nakamura in the tournament, while the Indian is on third with 8.5 points.
Anna Muzychuk’s second classical win in a row, this time over Pia Cramling, put her in sole second place, just a point behind the leader Vaishali, who has earned 10 points thus far.
After five rounds, the 22-year-old India is the table topper with compatriot Koneru Humpy languishing in fifth after losing to World Champion Ju Wenjun of China. Ju succeeded in winning all five matches she has played in Armageddon, finding herself in third place at the halfway stage.
Round 6 Pairings
Norway Chess Main Event
Magnus Carlsen vs Ding Liren; Alireza Firouzja vs Praggnanandhaa R; Hikaru Nakamura vs Fabiano Caruana
Norway Chess Women’s Tournament
Vaishali R vs Ju Wenjun; Lei Tingjie vs Anna Muzychuk; Koneru Humpy vs Pia Cramling
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