Stavanger, May 30
A delightful finish to Round 3 saw the brother-sister duo Praggnanandhaa R and Vaishali R leading their respective events at Norway Chess 2024, being held at the SpareBank 1 SR-Bank on Wednesday.
Praggnanandhaa's sister Vaishali held the top spot in the women's competition, with 5.5 points. She played a classical draw against Anna Muzychuk, and went on to secure points in the Armageddon game.
The 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster defeated Magnus Carlsen on his home turf to register his first win in the classical format against the five-time World Champion. Carlsen's risky approach did not pay off, as Pragg found correct responses to deliver an impressive performance. With this well-deserved win, Pragg took the lead from Carlsen in the overall standings, with 5.5 points.
Pragg's sister Vaishali held the top spot in the women's competition, with 5.5 points. She played a classical draw against Anna Muzychuk, and went on to secure points in Armageddon game.
Another exciting game took place between the 2018 World Championship Challenger Fabiano Caruana and the current World Champion Ding Liren. Caruana obtained a slight advantage from the opening and convincingly converted it into a win.
American Hikaru Nakamura defeated France's Alireza Firouzja in the Armageddon game to secure an extra half point.
Meanwhile, the women's games were decided in the Armageddon. Koneru Humpy defeated Lei Tingjie, while Pai Cramling defeated Ju Wenjun to bag 1.5 each.
Round 4 Pairings of Norway Chess main event:
Fabiano Caruana vs Magnus Carlsen; Hikaru Nakamura vs Praggnanandhaa R; Alireza Firouzja vs Ding Liren
Norway Chess Women's Tournament:
Pia Cramling vs Vaishali R Koneru Humpy vs Anna Muzychuk; Lei Tingjie vs Ju Wenjun.