Champions Chess Tour 2022 Day 2: Pragg is the youngest player to ever beat Carlsen
Day 2 of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour 2022 was not only eventful but also exciting, with Carlsen manifesting his great comeback until he lost against the 16-year-old Indian chess prodigy, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.
After a disappointing Day 1 for the World Champion, Day 2 looked like a fascinating comeback! Carlsen managed to win three games in a row and he was definitely up to his game.
It was until the Norwegian GM blundered terribly against the Indian GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, and resigned. That moment Pragg became the youngest player to beat Carlsen since he became World Champion in 2013 and the third Indian GM to win against the Norwegian GM.
Pragg’s victory was a breath of joy for the young chess prodigy, as it was his second win in the tour and his first against Carlsen in any form of chess. On the contrary, Carlsen was blatantly disheartened and immediately logged off when he lost the game.
Meanwhile, Ding Liren continued his great performance to eventually lose against Levon Aronian in Round 8 and “break” his undefeated pattern. The 2021 Challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi though finished the day with just one draw against Vladislav Artemiev, and is now the leader of the tour with 15 points.
On the other hand, Alexandra Kosteniuk is fighting very hard for her first win, which she almost achieved in her game against Andrey Esipenko. But as people say: “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”!
The event will continue on Monday, February 21, at 6PM CET, and you can watch it on the World Chess broadcasting page.
