Indian teen prodigy scores first Classical win over World No 1
Stavanger: World champion D Gukesh got his revenge on Magnus Carlsen as he pounced on a blunder by the World No 1 to defeat him for the first time in a classical game, leaving the Norwegian superstar so frustrated that he banged his fist on the board after Round 6 of Norway Chess Tournament here.
The win on Sunday propelled 19-year-old Gukesh to third position with 8.5 points and he is just one point shy of joint leaders Carlsen and American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana.
“There wasn’t much I could do. It was just clearly lost (his position)…Luckily he (Carlsen) got into a time scramble,” the reticent Chennai-lad said after the eagerly-watched contest.
Five-time world champion Carlsen seemed to have the upper-hand almost throughout the four-hour-long contest but a critical mistake allowed Gukesh to turn the tables on the Norwegian and secure a remarkable win.
Carlsen realised his mistake but by then it was too late. The Norwegian superstar vented his frustration by banging his fist on the table, causing the chess board to be dishevelled.
Disbelief and frustration was writ large on his face as he shook hands with Gukesh before placing all the pieces back on the board and walking away patting the winner on the back.
The victory had come after a crushing Round 1 loss to iconic player which had cast a shadow on whether Gukesh would be able to overcome
Carlsen’s challenge in the reverse game.
Arjun Erigaisi, following an Armageddon tie-break win against China’s Wei Yi, is tied fourth with Hikaru Nakamura on 7.5 points in a tournament where virtually all the six players have a chance of winning the prestigious title.
Meanwhile, the tournament saw another intense day in the women’s section with R Vaishali getting the better of Koneru Humpy in the Armageddon tie-break.
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D Gukesh defeated Magnus Carlsen for the first time in a classical game at Norway Chess
Gukesh capitalized on a late blunder by Carlsen and now stands third with 8.5 points
Carlsen, visibly frustrated, banged the table post-match
Arjun Erigaisi and Hikaru Nakamura are tied fourth with 7.5 points
R Vaishali beat Koneru Humpy in Armageddon
