Indian teen Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa stunned the reigning world champion Ding Liren in the armageddon game in the seventh round at the Norway Chess tournament on Monday, June 3.
Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura are leading the open category standings with 13 and 12.5 points, respectively. Praggnanandhaa R has now moved up to the third rank with 11 points following this much-needed win over world champion Ding Liren, who has been underperforming with four consecutive losses.
Alireza Firouzja with 9.5 points has the fourth rank while Fabiano Caruana is at the fifth rank with 7.5 points. Ding Liren continues to hold the wooden spoon with only 3.5 points.
Moving to the women’s section, the game between Koneru Humpy and R Vaishali was the highlight of the day as the former bagged an easy win. With this crushing defeat, the former tournament leader Vaishali’s winning chances have significantly reduced.
In the standings, Anna Muzychuk leads with 12 points while Ju Wenjun is at the second rank with 11.5 points. Once the leader of the standings, Vaishali slipped down to the third rank with 10 points.
Koneru Humpy is having an indifferent tournament, picking up eight points at the fifth rank while Pia Cramling is carrying the wooden spoon with 5.5 points.
Norway Chess 2024: Round 7 Results
Hikaru Namakura - Magnus Carlsen 1.5-1
Fabiano Caruana - Alireza Firouzja 1-1.5
Praggnanandhaa R - Ding Liren 1.5-1
Koneru Humpy - Vaishali R 3-0
Pia Cramling - Lei Tingjie 1-1.5
Anna Muzychuk - Ju Wenjun 1.5-1
Norway Chess 2024: Standings after Round 7
Open:
Magnus Carlsen - 13
Hikaru Nakamura - 12.5
Praggnanandhaa R - 11
Alireza Firouzja - 9.5
Fabiano Caruana - 7.5
Ding Liren - 3.5
Women’s:
Anna Muzychuk - 12
Ju Wenjun - 11.5
Vaishali R - 10
Lei Tingjie - 8.5
Koneru Humpy - 8
Pia Cramling - 5.5
Norway Chess 2024: Round 8 Pairings (From 8:30 PM IST, June 4)
Open:
Magnus Carlsen vs Praggnanandhaa R
Ding Liren vs Fabiano Caruana
Alireza Firouzja vs Hikaru Nakamura
Women’s:
Vaishali R vs Anna Muzychuk
Ju Wenjun vs Pia Cramling
Lei Tingjie vs Koneru Humpy