India's 16-year-old chess phenom Praggnanandhaa floors World No.1 Carlsen

Young Indian chess phenom Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa bossed over World no.1 Magnus Carlsen in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters. The 16-year-old child prodigy claimed the match in 39 moves with black pieces in a Tarrasch variation game on Monday (February 21). He brought Carlsen's run of three consecutive victories to a screeching halt.

Praggnanandhaa lies in joint 12th spot after eight rounds with eight points. His spectacular win over Carlsen comes after a moderate run in the earlier rounds, which included a solitary victory over Lev Aronian, two draws and four defeats.

He is the fifth-youngest person ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster (GM), behind Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Gukesh D and Javokhir Sindarov.

His spectacular win over Carlsen comes after a moderate run in the earlier rounds, which included a solitary victory over Lev Aronian, two draws and four defeats.

Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa drew against Anish Giri and Quang Liem Le and lost to Eric Hansen, Ding Liren, Jan-Kryzstof Duda and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi, who lost the world championship match a few months ago to the Norwegian world no 1 Carlsen, is on top of the standings with 19 points followed by Ding Liren and Hansen (both on 15 points).

In the Airthings Masters, a 16-player online rapid tournament, a player gets three points for a win and one for a draw in the preliminary rounds. Seven more rounds remain in the preliminary phase.

Asked what he would do to celebrate the stunning victory over Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa said: "I think it’s about just going to bed," as reported by Chess24.

The miraculous Praggnanandhaa has achieved more than his age. He clinched the World Youth Chess Championships Under-8 title in 2013, earning him the title of FIDE Master at the age of 7. He won the Under-10 title in 2015.

In 2016, he became the youngest international master in history, at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days.

Also, in April 2021, Praggnanandhaa won the Polgar Challenge, the first leg (out of four) of the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour, a rapid online event organized by Julius Baer Group and Chess24.com for young talents.