Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa claimed his maiden classical game victory over world number one Magnus Carlsen to take the sole lead in the Norway Chess tournament. The 18-year-old Indian, who has beaten Carlsen in the rapid/exhibition games quite a few times, took the leader's position with 5.5 points after three rounds. Praggnanandhaa was playing with white pieces and his victory pushed home favorite Carlsen to the fifth spot in the points table. Classical chess, also known as slow chess, allows players a significant amount of time to make their moves, usually at least one hour. Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa had drawn their previous three encounters in this format. Praggnandhaa's sister R Vaishali held the top spot in the women's competition, also with 5.5 points. She drew her game against Anna Muzychuk.

In other games, world number two Fabiano Caruana of the USA defeated reigning world champion Ding Liren of China. Liren dropped to the bottom of the heap in the six-player field following the loss. American Hikaru Nakamura won his Armageddon game against Alireza Firouzja of France to earn an extra half-point and be third in the standings. Nakamura will be up against Praggnanandhaa in the fourth round.

The World is Always Curious About His Moves ~ 
( Source: Google Images) 

World Champion Vishwanathan Anand and GM Pentala Harikrishna, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa became only the third Indian in history to defeat Magnus Carlsen. Moreover, Pragganandhaa joins Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Gukesh D, and Javokhir Sindarov as the fifth-youngest Grandmaster in history. He first gained fame in 2013, when he won the World Youth Chess Championships Under-8 title, earning him the FIDE Master title at the age of seven.

How it Started 'From a Hobby to Being World Champion' ~  R. Praggnanandhaa’s interest in chess was sparked when his parents were trying to get his sister away from the TV by luring her to play chess. Her little brother Praggnanandhaa was not even four at the time, but he was hooked on the game and Vaishali began to teach him the moves. Soon, the duo took up chess seriously and started competing. Praggnanandhaa is known for his fearless and even sacrificial playing style. Pragg, as he is fondly known, was in the middle of his 11th standard board exams during the recent tournament. He is currently balancing his studies with chess but he aims to become the World Champion in the future.