With this, Vidit Gujrathi joined the likes of fellow Indians R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi in defeating Carlsen.
Follow Us
Indian Grandmaster and number two Vidit Gujrathi stunned Norwegian magician Magnus Carlsen for his first victory over the five-time World Champion in the Pro Chess League 2023. Gujrathi, who was playing for Indian Yogis, took advantage of a blunder by world number one Carlsen, who missed a checkmate in three moves in the game. In his matchup with the 28-year-old Indian, Magnus Carlsen did not seem to be at his best. Carlsen was representing Canada Chessbrahs in the Pro Chess League. With this, Vidit joined the likes of fellow Indians R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh, and Arjun Erigaisi in defeating Carlsen.
Playing for the Indian Yogis, Vidit contributed to his team’s victory by aiding them in their 4-0 victory over Carlsen’s Canada Chessbrahs in the decisive game. Coming into this match, the Yogis were down by 5.5 to 6.5 points. The Canada side took a commanding lead in the match after winning the first round 2.5 to 1.5 and the second round 3-1. However, the Indian Yogis came back in the third round to defeat the more highly anticipated Chessbrahs by 4-0 before Carlsen defeated the teenager Raunak Sadhwani. The final score was 9.5-6.5 in favor of the Indian Yogis.
The Pro Chess League 2023 got underway on February 14, 2023. Sixteen teams are competing for a $25,000 first-place prize and a total prize pool of $150,000. There are six to ten players on the roster for each side. Every week, four teams will compete, with at least one woman on each squad. A rating cap (a 2550 average) is imposed on each match for competitive balance and cannot be exceeded. Teams must strategize around the cap and carefully examine prospective matchups in order to optimize their chances of winning each week. The live streaming of the event can be accessed on Chess.com.
Read more: Future of Indian Chess: Top Indian Chess Prodigies Who Will Rule The World In Coming Years
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, better known as Vidit Gujrathi, became India’s 30th grandmaster in January 2013. He ranks behind Viswanathan Anand as the second-best player in India as of August 2022. At the 2020 FIDE Online Chess Olympiad, he served as captain of the historic Indian gold-medal winning squad. Among his other notable achievements include first place in the 2019 Biel Chess Festival Grandmaster tournament, runner-up in the 2020 Prague Chess Festival masters, and a quarter-finalist in the FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2019 and FIDE World Cup 2021.
Read more: ‘Going to sleep’: How R Praggnanandhaa reacted to defining win over World No.1 Magnus Carlsen
