World No.1 Magnus Carlsen was reviewing his drawn game against D Gukesh when he was asked to look at the Arjun Erigaisi-R Praggnanandhaa queen endgame and he instantly said that it was over.
"This is just inertia from Arjun," he said during an interview on chess24.com after winning his quarterfinal at the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday.
It indeed was. The game had been over for a while with the computers giving Pragg the win but given that Erigaisi had got a win in the first game, he struggled for as long as possible. There was a semi-final at stake (and a spot in the Candidates potentially) and he didn't want to leave anything in the tank.
"I am very happy to force the tiebreak today," said Praggnanandhaa, who was playing with black pieces, in an interview after the game. "I didn't expect it."
Going into the day, five-time Norwegian world champion Carlsen and Arjun were in a similar position. They had both won the first round of classical games despite playing with black. They were both playing white which meant they had the chance to set the tone of the game initially. The similarity was extended when they both decided to resort to the Alapin variation of the Sicilian in their opening.
But the games veered into different directions very quickly.
Gukesh put Carlsen under pressure early and a blunder on 19. Bb5 meant that the 17-year-old had a chance to push for a win.
Esta historia es de la edición August 17, 2023 de Hindustan Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 17, 2023 de Hindustan Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
K SANJAY MURTHY APPOINTED AS NEW COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL
Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, K Sanjay Murthy, has been appointed as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, according to a gazette notification issued on Monday.
Oppn intensifies attack on govt, Cong seeks Shah's resignation
The Opposition on Monday intensified its attack on the Union government amid fresh violence in Manipur, with Congress demanding Union home minister Amit Shah to resign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the strifetorn state.
15 MBBS students held over death of junior due to ragging in Gujarat
THE ACCUSED FORCED THE VICTIM TO SING, DANCE AND MADE HIM STAND IN A HOSTEL ROOM FOR 3.5 HOURS
Top court grants news portal relief by stalling tax recovery
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed further recovery of an outstanding tax demand from news portal NewsClick, directing the company's banker not to release any more money to the tax department based on a 2023 notice, and allowing the portal to use its two bank accounts for daily operations.
Collegium recommends new Manipur HC chief justice
The Supreme Court collegium on Monday recommended the appointment of justice D Krishnakumar, a judge in the Madras high court, as the next chief justice of the Manipur high court.
Akali Dal asks Sukhbir to rethink resignation
The working committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday requested Sukhbir Singh Badal to reconsider his resignation as party chief.
NIA takes over 3 cases amid fresh violence
The National Investigation Agency has taken over the probe into the fresh wave of violence that has hit Manipur since last week, including the November 7 murder of a Hmar woman in Jiribam and the November 11 attack on a CRPF post in the district, following directions from the ministry of home affairs, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
As unrest rages, several MLAs skip Manipur CM-led meeting
A crucial meeting of the National Democratic Alliance called by Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Monday evening saw significant absences, with only 27 of 45 MLAs attending in person and one joining virtually, highlighting growing fissures within the ruling coalition as the state grapples with a fresh wave of ethnic violence.
Andhra passes laws to remove 2-child norm for local body elections
The Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly on Monday passed two bills to effectively end the two-child norm that barred candidates having more than two children from contesting the elections for local bodies.
CENTRE NOTIFIES TIGER RESERVE IN CHHATTISGARH, 56TH FOR COUNTRY
The Union government on Monday notified the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh as a tiger reserve, in a move that is likely to further boost the country's tiger conservation efforts.
