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R Praggnanadhaa says he feels excited, not intimidated, when facing Magnus Carlsen.
R Praggnanandhaa has beaten Magnus Carlsen twice in the ongoing Norway Chess. (ANI Photo)
R Praggnanandhaa has now beaten Magnus Carlsen twice at the ongoing Norway Chess tournament. With three points from his latest classical victory, the Indian grandmaster sits third in the standings, two points behind leader Wesley So.
Defeating Carlsen in the classical format carries particular significance. Doing so twice in the same tournament is even rarer. Yet the 20-year-old is not dwelling on his recent triumphs against the five-time world champion.
His focus remains firmly on the larger goal: winning the tournament.
“Beating Magnus in any format is good,” Praggnanandhaa was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “…but more than that, I think winning at this stage of the tournament is more important because when you win in classical, you get three points which are more important for the standings.”
Reflecting on the game, Praggnanandhaa highlighted the aggressive approach both players tend to bring to their encounters.
“Today it was more of me who took the risk. We usually end up getting fighting games. I think we both want to beat each other, so we end up creating something out of nothing,” he added.
The victory placed Praggnanandhaa in elite company. He became the first player since Veselin Topalov in 2008 to defeat Carlsen twice in the same classical tournament. Before Topalov, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand achieved the feat at Linares in 2007.
Despite those victories, Praggnanandhaa remains unequivocal in his assessment of Carlsen’s standing in the game.
“If you take Carlsen’s tournaments from last year, he has won everything that he has played in. This is just one tournament where a few moments haven’t gone his way. I think he is still the best,” he said.
Praggnanandhaa also revealed that facing Carlsen has never been an intimidating experience. Instead, the challenge of playing one of the greatest players in chess history motivates him and often brings out his best performances.
“I wouldn’t say I felt intimidated (facing Carlsen). I always felt more excited playing him than being intimidated. So these games always bring out my best. I don’t think that affected me. In all my games with him, I was always playing at least decent quality chess,” Praggnanandhaa said.
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Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience …Read More
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