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Norway Chess Tournament: Carlsen Extends Lead, Praggnanandhaa Slips Against Caruana
In a dramatic penultimate round at the Norway Chess tournament, Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa faced a setback against Fabiano Caruana of the United States, losing in the Armageddon tiebreaker. Despite this defeat, Praggnanandhaa remains in third place with 13 points.
World number one Magnus Carlsen continued his impressive performance, securing an Armageddon victory over France’s Alireza Firouzja. This win allowed Carlsen to extend his lead to 16 points, placing him 1.5 points ahead of his closest competitor, Hikaru Nakamura. Nakamura encountered a surprising challenge from World Champion Ding Liren, who managed to hold his ground in their encounter.
Praggnanandhaa’s position is still strong, holding third place by a full point ahead of Firouzja. Caruana follows with 10.5 points, while Ding Liren, who disrupted Nakamura’s plans, stands at 6 points.
In the women’s section, R Vaishali faced another defeat, this time against China’s Tingjie Lei, which dropped her to fourth place. Koneru Humpy also suffered a loss to the tournament leader, Wenjun Ju of China.
Wenjun Ju reinforced her dominance in the tournament, moving to 16 points. Tingjie Lei and Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk are tied for second place, 1.5 points behind the leader. Vaishali is currently in fourth with 11.5 points, while Humpy holds nine points. Veteran Swedish player Pia Cramling is at the bottom of the standings with 6.5 points.
Vaishali’s match was the only one in the women’s section to end in a classical game loss, as all other matches progressed to Armageddon tiebreakers after draws in the classical games. Tingjie Lei capitalized on an early advantage in the English Opening against Vaishali, exploiting a weakened pawn structure to secure victory in just 28 moves.
Humpy’s encounter with Wenjun Ju saw her unable to capitalize on her final opportunity, as Ju skillfully navigated the Ragozine defense to achieve a comfortable draw in the rook and pawns endgame. In the ensuing Armageddon game, Wenjun Ju outmaneuvered Humpy, winning a rook through a tactical skirmish and concluding the game in 41 moves.
As the tournament nears its conclusion, the standings highlight the intense competition and strategic battles among the world’s top chess players.
