Magnus Carlsen is undoubtedly the ultimate test in chess. Regardless of the format, he stands as an immovable rock and an unstoppable force. His record is incomprehensible to the average person, particularly in the classical format.
Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Champion, the reigning five-time World Rapid Chess Champion, the reigning seven-time World Blitz Chess Champion, and the current Chess World Cup Champion. These titles are just the beginning of his extraordinary achievements.
🇮🇳 Praggnanandhaa beats World #1 and #2 in Norway Chess 🔥
♟️ @rpraggnachess prevails against World No.2 🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana after a long fight of 77 moves in round 5!
📈 With his classical game victories over 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen and 🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa now stands… pic.twitter.com/SJLFn5dLch
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) June 2, 2024
As if that was not enough, he has held the No. 1 position in the FIDE world chess rankings since July 1, 2011, and his peak rating of 2882 is the highest in the history of the sport. He also holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at an elite level in classical chess, with 125 games.
It was a mountain of this magnitude that Praggnanandhaa scaled on May 30, 2024, when he defeated Carlsen in a classical game at the Norway Chess tournament. He became just the fourth Indian to do so, marking his first-ever victory in a classical game against Carlsen.
As the dust settles around this monumental event, we at The Bridge recollect other occasions where Indians have come out on top against Magnus Carlsen.
Pentala Harikrishna
Pentala Harikrishna was the first Indian to defeat Carlsen in the classical format, albeit the latter was just 14 and still in his formative years. While Magnus Carlsen managed to secure a few wins over Harikrishna in later years, Harikrishna will always hold the distinction of being the first to defeat Carlsen.
Vishwanathan Anand
Indian chess grandmaster and former world champion Vishwanathan Anand has gotten the better of Carlsen, as has Carlsen over Anand. Very recently, the Indian won Carlsen at the 2022 Norway Chess in the classical format. He also got one over the Norway international in the 2017 World Rapid Chess Championship at Riyadh.
Karthikeyan Murali
The 2023 Qatar Masters saw Karthikeyan Murali become only the third Indian to defeat Magnus Carlsen in a classical chess game. The 25 year old youngster managed to do the impossible using black pieces and entered a very elite club of chess players.
Praggnanandhaa not just defeated the world no.1, he also defeated world no.2 Fabiano Caruana in the same tournament.
He has been in scintillating form since the 2024 Candidates and along with his sister Vaishali, a grandmaster herself, and fellow Chennai chess prodigy and the 2024 Candidates winner, Gukesh D, the trio can scale great heights in the world of chess and bring forth laurels to our country in the years to come.