File image by R Praggnanandhaa© AFP
Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa lost to world champion Ding Liren in the tiebreak at Armageddon after the two drew under normal time control in the second round of the Norwegian chess tournament in Stavanger. In the second round of the prestigious event, all three classic matches again ended in a draw. Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja and Liren won with white in the subsequent Armageddon matches, each taking 1.5 points.
India's prodigy Praggnanandhaa, who took a 2-0 lead against Liren, played his first classic draw in the main draw.
But the Chinese GM then emerged victorious in the Armageddon tiebreaker. In the highly anticipated duo of the day, Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura played a closely contested classic game that ended in a draw.
Carlsen demonstrated his exceptional skill under pressure and managed to secure a crucial win, adding to his impressive Armageddon record and taking the 3-point lead in the tournament standings.
Meanwhile, Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana also signed their classic game after a complicated battle.
Firouzja's speed chess skills were clearly evident in the Armageddon game, when he achieved crucial 1.5 points.
In the women's section, R Vaishali defeated compatriot Koneru Humpy to register her first classic win in the tournament.
Despite Humpy's slim opening advantage, a critical blunder under time pressure allowed Vaishali to claim victory and claim her first-ever win over India's number one female player.
With the win, Vaishali became India's second female player on the live ratings list.
The other two classic matches between Lei Tingjie and Pia Cramling, along with Ju Wenjun and Anna Muzychuk, ended in hard-fought draws.
Chinese duo Wenjun and Tingjie emerged victorious in their respective Armageddon matches.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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