Praggnanandhaa Continues His Winning Streak By Defeating World Number One Magnus Carlsen In Superbet Chess Tournament

Indian chess prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa has continued his winning streak by defeating world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the Superbet rapid and blitz chess tournament, part of the Grand Chess Tour.

While Praggnanandhaa's victory kept him in contention, Wei Yi of China extended his lead by a significant 2.5 points as per a report by The Hindu.

With nine rounds remaining in the blitz event, Wei Yi secured 20.5 points with seven wins on the first day. Barring any unexpected setbacks, Yi appears set to clinch the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

Carlsen, currently in second place with 18 points, owes his position largely to Praggnanandhaa, who has consistently bested the world number one in faster chess formats.

Despite Praggnanandhaa's impressive performance, he trails behind the leaders with 14.5 points.

Anish Giri of Holland improved slightly to ninth place with 10.5 points, while world championship challenger D. Gukesh is struggling in last place with 9.5 points in the USD 1,75,000 prize money tournament.

Wei Yi, who started the day with a loss against Gukesh, quickly recovered and only conceded a draw to Carlsen, winning the rest of his seven games.

For Gukesh, the day was challenging despite a strong start against the tournament leader, as he could only score 2.5 points overall.

Arjun Erigaisi, with victories over Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh, remained in contention for a podium finish. Losing to Wei Yi and Carlsen, Arjun scored five wins and two draws in his other games, giving him optimism for the final day of the event.