Norway Chess: Carlsen defeats Praggnanandhaa in round 8; Vaishali secures victory

Carlsen extends lead to 14.5 points, Nakamura in second with 13.5, Praggnanandhaa follows with 11.

Stavanger: Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa lost to world number one Magnus Carlsen in Armageddon game in round eight of the Norway Chess tournament on Tuesday.

The win saw Magnus Carlsen extending his lead to a full point with 14.5 with Hikaru Nakamura sitting second 13.5 points followed by Praggnanandhaa on third with 11 points.

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Hikaru Nakamura would defeat Firouzja in classical chess, but the young talent defended brilliantly and emerged victorious in the blitz showdown. Meanwhile, world champion Ding Liren squandered two winning positions, ultimately losing to Fabiano Caruana in the Armageddon tiebreaker.

In the women’s event, world champion Ju Wenjun took the lead in the standings after winning a classical game against Pia Cramling. Meanwhile, Lei Tingjie secured her first classical victory by defeating GM Koneru Humpy.

Previous leader Anna Muzychuk lost on time in armageddon to Vaishali Rameshbabu.

With two rounds to go, Wenjung sits on top of the standing with 14.5 points followed by Muzychuk on second with 13 and Vaishali on third with 11.5 points.