Praggnanandhaa Falls to Carlsen, Vaishali Triumphs in Norway Chess

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa put up a valiant fight against world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the eighth round of the Norway Chess Tournament, but ultimately succumbed to the Norwegian's superior experience. However, Praggnanandhaa's elder sister, Vaishali, emerged victorious against overnight leader Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine in the women's section.

Carlsen's victory extended his lead to a full point over Hikaru Nakamura of the United States, who suffered a defeat against Firouzja Alireza of France. Meanwhile, World Champion Ding Liren of China continued his disappointing run, losing to Fabiano Caruana of the United States.

With just two rounds remaining in the six-player double round-robin tournament, Carlsen holds a commanding lead with 14.5 points, followed by Nakamura with 13.5 points. Praggnanandhaa sits in third place with 12 points, while Alireza trails him by a full point. Caruana occupies fifth place with nine points, while Liren languishes at the bottom with 4.5 points.

In the women's section, world champion Wenjun Ju of China surged ahead of the field with 14.5 points after defeating Pia Cramling of Sweden. Muzychuk's loss to Vaishali dropped her to second place with 13 points, 1.5 points ahead of Vaishali and Tingjie Lei of China. Koneru Humpy of India remains in fifth place with eight points.

All three games in the men's category ended in draws in the Classical format, leading to Armageddon games as per tournament rules. Carlsen struggled to break down Praggnanandhaa's solid defense in the Classical game, eventually reaching a theoretically drawn rooks and pawns endgame. However, in the return game, Praggnanandhaa's inexperience showed as he lost several pawns and eventually succumbed to Carlsen's superior endgame technique.

Nakamura remained within striking distance of Carlsen despite his loss to Alireza. The Frenchman played an impressive game and will fancy his chances in the remaining rounds. Vaishali defeated Muzychuk for the second time in the tournament in the Armageddon game, taking advantage of her better-placed rooks to secure the victory.

Humpy's hopes of a comeback were dashed by her loss to Tingjie Lei. The Indian star, known for her resilience, now needs two wins to finish the tournament on a high note.

Tags: #Chess, #NorwayChess, #MagnusCarlsen, #RPraggnanandhaa, #Vaishali