"Blundered In A Weird Way": R Praggnanandhaa On Magnus Carlsen's Costly Mistake
R Praggnanandhaa capitalised on a rare blunder by Magnus Carlsen under time pressure, securing a key victory after 50 moves and boosting his title chances.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa scripted history at Norway Chess on Tuesday as he completed his second victory over the World No. 1 in the classical format, becoming the first Indian to do so. The Round 8 victory gave Praggnanandhaa's title hopes a massive boost, while it now looks as though the Norwegian might not be able to defend his crown. Speaking after the match, the Indian Grandmaster was asked about the "blunder" Carlsen committed when he exposed his king.
Though Carlsen showed his trademark resilience and defensive solidity, he could not cope with the pressure Praggnanandhaa put him under before eventually blundering with 48.Kf4. As the game ended after 50 moves, the 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa earned one of the biggest wins of his career.
Asked about the blunder made by Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa admitted it was a major surprise.
"Somehow it's surprising that he blundered in such a weird way. Even in a bullet game, if you wake him up in the middle of the night, he'll put his King on the dark square instead of the light one. So I don't know. Maybe it's just panic or something happened," Praggnanandhaa said after the game, before suggesting that prolonged time pressure might have led to Carlsen committing the error.
"But these things happen when you're under pressure, especially when you've been playing in time trouble for a long time. I will take any such wins because I've missed a lot of opportunities in time scrambles myself," he added.
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Even though Praggnanandhaa has now won twice against Carlsen in the same competition, he does not feel he has discovered a "formula" to beat the six-time Norway Chess champion.
"I don't think there's any secret. Sometimes you're just lucky. I thought he played a really good game. I think the overall quality of the game was quite good compared to our previous one. I was putting a lot of pressure, both on the board and on the clock, but he managed to remain calm. I think he's one of the only guys who can do it," Praggnanandhaa asserted.