New Delhi: World no.1 Magnus Carlsen losing a game of chess is rare. The Norwegian, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, losing to his opponent in just 20 moves on the board is even rarer. But Carlsen was left stunned in the eighth round of the Tata Steel Chess India tournament in Kolkata on Sunday as India’s no.1 Arjun Erigaisi pulled off the unthinkable.
Erigaisi handed Carlsen his first defeat in the tournament after beating him comprehensively in just 20 moves in less than six minutes during the clash between the duo in a blitz game. Despite playing with black, Erigaisi made Carlsen toil hard and left him in a spot of bother with some of his exceptional moves to emerge on top of the world no.1.
Carlsen headed into the game unbeaten having won 16 on the trot across rapid and blitz formats at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament. However, Erigaisi ended his stellar streak on Saturday. Even the audience at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata were left baffled as the world no.1 struggled to counter the Indian’s moves before being left dejected by the end of the game.
Earlier in the tournament, Carlsen had defeated Erigaisi in just 40 moves during the duo’s meeting in the rapid round. The world no.1 claimed that his match against the top-seeded Indian was the one he enjoyed the most. The tables turned as the two met in the blitz round on Saturday as Erigaisi gave the world no.1 a taste of his own medicine by wrapping up a victory in less than six minutes.
According to the live chess engines, Erigaisi’s accuracy during the blitz round was a brilliant 98% compared to Carlsen’s uncharacteristic accuracy of just 80%. This highlights how the Indian ripped through the world’s no.1 defences to register a mighty victory.
Magnus Carlsen remains on top of blitz standings
Despite his rare defeat against Erigaisi, world no.1 Carlsen remained on the top of the blitz standings at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament. Carlsen recorded 6.5 points in nine rounds to take the top spot followed by India’s R Praggnanandhaa at the 2nd spot with six points from six consecutive victories after losing his first three matches. Erigaisi and Russia’s Daniil Dubov share the third spot with 5.5 points each
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