On August 22, 17-year-old Indian Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu stood victorious against world champion Magnus Carlsen at the FTX Crypto Cup, the American finale of the Champions Chess Tour, in Miami. This is the third time in the last six months that Praggnanandhaa has defeated Carlsen. Praggnanandhaa won the game in the blitz tiebreaker after the score was tied at 2-2.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeats the reigning 5-time World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen at the FTX Crypto Cup. pic.twitter.com/AqIpvmaEXS
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) August 22, 2022
Though Carlsen was on the verge of winning the game, he made blunders leading to the defeat. Praggnanandhaa secured the second position based on the score, while Magnus won the event.
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
As per the score-card of the tournament, Praggnanandhaa had a good start and won four consecutive wins. While he won the games against world No.6 Levon Aronian, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri, and Hans Nieman, Praggnanandhaa lost the game against China’s Quang Liem Le in the fifth round, followed by a loss against Poland’s Jan-Krzystof Duda in the sixth round via the tie-break.
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
Six months ago in February, Praggnanandhaa had won the game against world No 1 Carlsen in an online championship, the Airthings Masters rapid chess tournament. Praggnanandhaa was just ten years old when he became the youngest international master in history in 2016.
