Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Teenage Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa delivered a resounding statement at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas, defeating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in a dominant Round 4 clash on July 16. In what many are calling a career-defining performance, the 19-year-old dismantled the Norwegian great in just 39 moves, reinforcing his rising stature on the global chess stage and continuing a troubling trend for Carlsen against India’s new generation of stars.
Playing with the white pieces, Praggnanandhaa controlled the game from start to finish, registering a remarkable accuracy of 93.9%, compared to Carlsen’s unusually low 84.9%. The match, played in a 10-minute + 10-second increment format, saw Praggnanandhaa outmaneuver Carlsen with confidence and composure rarely seen against the five-time world champion. The victory not only gave him the sole lead in Group White at the time, but also added another chapter to his growing legacy-having now defeated Carlsen across all three major time formats: Classical, Rapid, and Blitz.
“I like Freestyle more than Classical right now,” Praggnanandhaa said in a post-game interview, his relaxed tone underscoring the maturity and fearlessness with which he approached the matchup. The Las Vegas leg of the Grand Slam is especially symbolic, as it’s a tournament co-founded by Carlsen himself, built around the innovative Freestyle (Chess960) format. That made the Indian’s win even more impactful, as he outplayed the tournament’s creator on his own turf.
