Norway Chess: Praggnanandhaa loses lead in Rd-4; Vaishali wins

STAVANGER — Just a day after registering his first classical win over the five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen, India’s prodigy R Praggnanandhaa went down against America’s Hikaru Nakamura in Round 4 of the Norway Chess 2024, here on Thursday.

Nakamura displayed masterful preparation against Praggnanandhaa, who sacrificed a knight in a desperate bid to save the game. Nakamura, having anticipated this very sacrifice, played flawlessly and secured a convincing victory to climb to the top spot of the overall standings.

Pragg’s sister Vaishali, on the other hand, continued her dominant performance by defeating the legendary Pia Cramling, extending her lead to a total of 8.5 points.

Indian women’s chess Grandmaster Kuneru Humpy suffered a loss in the classical game against Anna Muzychuk in Round 4. In another exciting game of the women’s tournament, Ju Wenjun triumphed over her compatriot Lie Tengjie in the fourth Armageddon tiebreak of the tournament.

The local hero Carlsen registered a narrow victory over Fabiano Caruana in the main event to bag three points. Caruana had a golden opportunity to close the rating gap with Carlsen to just four points, but the game, initially calm, took a dramatic turn in the endgame. Carlsen capitalised on a small advantage, ultimately clinching the win when Caruana blundered with only seconds left on his clock.

Meanwhile, Alireza Firouzja stunned the reigning World Champion Ding Liren to earn three crucial points ahead of the rest day.

After a rest day, Round 5 of the Norway Chess 2024 will take place on Saturday.

Round 5 Pairings

Norway Chess main event

Magnus Carlsen vs Alireza Firouzja; Ding Liren vs Hikaru Nakamura; Praggnanandhaa R vs Fabiano Caruana

Norway Chess Women’s Tournament

Vaishali R vs Lei Tingjie; Ju Wenjun vs Koneru Humpy; Anna Muzychuk vs Pia Cramling