Praggnanandhaa left surprised by Carlsen’s ‘weird’ blunder in 2026 Norway Chess rematch: ‘Even in a bullet game…’

R Praggnanandhaa admitted he was left surprised by Magnus Carlsen’s “weird” blunder that allowed him to defeat the world No 1 and defending champion for the second time in as many Classical games at Norway Chess in Oslo on Tuesday.

Carlsen had suffered a 46-move defeat at the hands of the Indian Grandmaster last week, but did not allow him any decisive advantage in Round 8 on Tuesday despite facing time pressure. That was until the Norwegian GM, eyeing a record-extending eighth title at his home event, committed a massive blunder in the 48th move that proved to be his undoing.

Playing with white pieces, Carlsen decided to move his King diagonally by one square to f4, which was instantly termed a blunder by the Stockfish engine as the eval bar turned black. Pragg was quick to spot his celebrated opponent’s folly and made him pay dearly for it, forcing a resignation just two moves later by cornering Carlsen’s King with his Queen.

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“Somehow it’s surprising that he blundered in a weird way. Even in a bullet game, if you wake him up in the middle of the night, he’ll put his King on the dark square instead of light one. So I don’t know. Maybe it’s just panic or something happened,” Praggnanandhaa told the Norway Chess in a post-game interview on Tuesday.

“But these things happen when you’re under pressure, also playing in time trouble for a long time. I will take any such wins because I’ve missed a lot in time scrambles,” he continued.

‘I don’t think there’s any secret’

Praggnanandhaa now has three Classical wins against Carlsen to his credit – having beaten the five-time world champion for the first time at the same event two years earlier. The former Indian No 1 has also beaten Carlsen in other formats, having registered his first win against him at an online rapid event in 2022.

The 20-year-old, however, insists he doesn’t possess the secret to defeating Carlsen and praised the seven-time Norway Chess champion for putting up a great fight despite the time crunch.

“I don’t think there’s any secret. Sometimes you’re just lucky. I thought he played a really good game. I think the overall qualify of the game was quite good compared to the other one. I was putting a lot of pressure, both on the board and on time, but he managed to keep calm. I think he’s one of the only guys who can do it,” Praggnanandhaa added.

The victory, his second on the trot and his third overall in the ongoing edition, takes him to the third spot on the ‘Open’ standings, within two points of current leader Wesley So.

After back-to-back wins against Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa will now be setting his sights on avenging his fifth-round loss against compatriot and reigning world champion D Gukesh when the two youngsters face off in Round 9 on Thursday, a day after the second and final ‘Rest Day’.