Norway Chess 2024: Praggnanandhaa finished third, 3 points behind Carlsen
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa finished third in the Open Section of Norway Chess 2024 despite defeating Hikaru Nakamura in the prestigious tournament’s 10th and final round on Friday. Magnus Carlsen, the world number one, won the title at his home in Stavanger.
Meanwhile, India’s GM R Vaishali finished fourth in the women’s segment, with GM Koneru Humpy finishing fifth.
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The final round of the Norway Chess 2024 included some dramatic games in which players competed for the desired crown. Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana drew their classical game, and the winner was decided by an Armageddon tiebreaker. Carlsen defeated Caruana, and with this victory, the Norwegian clinched at least a share of top place in the tournament, pending the outcome of the game between Hikaru Nakamura and Praggnanandhaa R.
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Nakamura was in a must-win situation to finish first, but the game was a draw. Praggnanandhaa, an 18-year-old chess prodigy, then won the tiebreak game to finish third behind Nakamura in his debut at Norway Chess.
Praggnanandhaa finished the campaign with a string of victories, including his first over Carlsen, World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana, and World Champion Ding Liren.
The game between Alireza Firouzja and Ding Liren similarly finished in a tie, with the former winning the Armageddon.
Carlsen wins Norway Chess crown for the 6th time
With these outcomes, Carlsen has won his sixth Norway Chess Championship. This is a major triumph for the home country hero, who hasn’t played many traditional tournaments in recent years.
Ju Wenjun wins in women’s category
In the Women’s competition, Ju Wenjun scripted history as she clinched the title in the inaugural edition of the tournament. She defeated her compatriot from China and the World Championship Challenger Lei Tingjie in a classical game.
In another game, Anna Muzychuk and Koneru Humpy drew their game, which meant that Muzychuk’s chances of winning the tournament disappeared. However, Muzychuk managed to win in the Armageddon to bag crucial 1.5 points to finish second in the tournament.
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The final game of the event featured rising Indian talent Vaishali R and the famous Pia Cramling. While Vaishali achieved a winning position at one point, Cramling was striving for a win in the endgame, but the game finished amicably. Vaishali lost in the tiebreaker game, finishing fourth in the tournament.
