Russia’s number 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi scored a sizzling three wins and a draw to storm into the lead in the Airthings Masters elite online chess tournament today.
The day ended on a sour note, however, for World Champion Magnus Carlsen, whose revival after a tough first day of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour was pegged back by the youngest player in the field.
Carlsen had racked up three wins in a row as he ominously cranked up the gears. But against 16-year-old Praggnanandhaa, he blundered badly, and the Indian star held firm for the win.
It was Pragg’s first win in any form of chess against the Norwegian and came on the back of having lost three games in a row. Carlsen finished down in fifth – up from 11th on the leaderboard yesterday.
Asked what he would do to celebrate, Pragg said: “I think it’s about just going to bed.”
Ian Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen’s world title challenger last year, had started with two wins to go five-in-a-row before being held to a draw by fellow countryman Vladislav Artemiev. Clearly, Nepo has a point to prove after losing the big match to Carlsen in December. The 31-year-old then beat another Russian, Alexandra Kosteniuk, to finish four points clear on the Prelim leaderboard. He will now almost certainly go through to the knockout stage.
Meanwhile, China’s Ding Liren continued his strong form despite losing his overnight lead to Nepo. Ding remained unbeaten until a Round 8 loss to Levon Aronian and stands joint-second on 15 points. Level-pegging with Ding is the tournament underdog, Canadian streamer Eric Hansen, who continued to confound predictions.
Having nearly beaten Ding in Round 5, Hansen followed up by toppling the exciting Pole Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Hansen then made it four unbeaten with a hard-fought draw against Tour big beast Levon Aronian. But a brilliant final round win over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov left him with 15 points and propelled him up the leaderboard. At the halfway stage of the Prelims, can the fairytale continue?
Eight make the cut from the round-robin Prelim stage to the knockout which begins on Wednesday.
Full coverage with commentary is available on chess24.com/tour/ and chess24’s YouTube and Twitch channels.
For further comments, contact:
Leon Watson – leon@championschesstour.com
About the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour
The Champions Chess Tour is the leading online chess Tour worldwide, determining the world’s best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins in February 2022 and features monthly tournaments culminating in a Final in November 2022. The best chess players in the world are competing in rapid chess. All games take place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of over USD 1.5 million. For more information, visit www.championschesstour.com.
About Play Magnus Group
Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market-leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Group’s mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. Play Magnus Group is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker PMG.
