Stavanger (Norway): India’s young grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa emerged victorious in the Norway Chess Group A Open Chess Tournament here with 7.5 points in nine rounds.

The 16-year-old GM, the top seed, was in fine form and went undefeated through all nine rounds. He ended the tournament with a win over fellow Indian V Praneeth, an international master, on Friday night. Praggnanandhaa (Elo 2642) finished one point ahead of MI Marsel Efroimski (Israel) and MI Jung Min Seo (Sweden). Praneeth with six points was third but placed sixth due to a lower tie-break score.

In addition to beating Praneeth, Praggnanandhaa picked up victories over Victor Mikhalevski (in round 8), Vitaly Kunin (round 6), Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov (round 4), Semen Mutusov (round 2), and Mathias Unneland (round 1). He drew his other three games.

The Indian teenage star has been putting in some impressive performances lately and defeated world number one Magnus Carlsen for the second time in the Chessable Masters online event and lost a close final to China’s Ding Liren. The GM will be part of the India B team at the open event of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai next month. Praggnanandhaa’s coach RB Ramesh congratulated him after the win and said it would help boost his confidence.

“Congratulations to him on the win. He was the first seed, so it’s no surprise that he won the tournament. He played well in general, drew three games with black pieces and won the remaining matches. This will help boost his confidence,” Ramesh said.
Anand finishes third

Former world champion Viswanathan Anand scored a victory over Aryan Tari in the ninth and final round to finish third in the Norway chess tournament won by world number one Magnus Carlsen. The 52-year-old Indian chess legend won the Armageddon encounter against Tari after the classic match ended in a draw in 22 moves. Anand was made to work hard by Tari in the sudden death tie-break as he needed 87 shots to secure victory early on Saturday.