India's 16-year-old GM Praggnanandhaa stuns world No.1 Carlsen; says was just enjoying myself
'You've made India proud', Sachin Tendulkar congratulates Praggnanandhaa on beating Magnus Carlsen
Chennai, Feb 21: Teenaged Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa stunned world no.1 Magnus Carlsen in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters online rapid chess tournament, becoming only the third from the country to clinch a victory over the Norwegian superstar.
The 16-year old prodigy was hailed by many on the social media, including cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and All-India Chess Federation president Sanjay Kapoor, after he followed five-time former world champion Viswanathan Anand and P Harikrishna in getting the better of Carlsen, the 31-year-old who is also the reigning world champion.
Praggnanandhaa won with black pieces in 39 moves in a Tarrasch variation game early on Monday to halt Carlsen's run of three straight wins.
"I am delighted to have beaten Carlsen. It will give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the tournament and future also," he told PTI over phone.
For someone, who brought down the best chess player on the planet, Praggnanandhaa was not celebrating big just yet and said he wanted to stay focussed on the rest of the tournament.
"I have to focus on the upcoming matches. After the match I just wanted to rest," he said with a smile.
The teenaged GM also said there was no specific plan for the match against the Norwegian.
"No special plan or preparation for the Carlsen match. I just wanted to enjoy playing against him and not put too much pressure on myself (of taking on the world champion)," Praggu, as he is affectionately called by friends and coach R B Ramesh, said.
His coach, meanwhile, said, he was overjoyed with his ward's triumph over the best player in the world.
"It is a great feeling. I am very proud of his achievement. This should do a world of good to his self-belief," Ramesh said.
The Indian GM lies in joint 12th spot after eight rounds with eight points.
"Always proud of our talents! Very good day for @rpragchess," tweeted Anand, who has eight victories over Carlsen to his credit.
His spectacular win over Carlsen comes after a moderate run in the earlier rounds, which included a solitary victory over top-10 player Levon Aronian, two draws and four defeats.
He drew against Anish Giri and Quang Liem Le and lost to Eric Hansen, Ding Liren, Jan-Kryzstof Duda and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
What a wonderful feeling it must be for Pragg. All of 16, and to have beaten the experienced & decorated Magnus Carlsen, and that too while playing black, is magical! Best wishes on a long & successful chess career ahead. You've made India proud!" Tendulkar tweeted.
Sanjay Kapoor hailed the young GM and tweeted : "16 yrs old India #Chess prodigy, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has humbled none other than the World Chess Champion, @MagnusCarlsen. Wow! This young boy deserves a huge applause for his remarkable feat."
Praggnanandhaa is the fifth youngest person ever to become a GM.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also congratulated the young star.
"Congratulate young Indian Grandmaster R #Praggnanandhaa on his stunning victory over reigning World Champion GM #MagnusCarlsen during ongoing
#AirthingsMasters Chess Tournament. Wish him all the best for the future," he tweeted.
Praggnanandhaa will play four rounds later on Monday night and will be up against Nodirbek Abusattorov, Andrey Esipenko, Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi and Alexandra Kosteniuk.
Nepomniachtchi, who lost the world championship match a few months ago to Carlsen, is on top of the standings with 19 points followed by Ding Liren and Hansen (both on 15 points).
In the Airthings Masters, a 16-player online rapid tournament, a player gets three points for a win and one for a draw in the preliminary rounds. Seven more rounds remain in the preliminary phase.
What a wonderful feeling it must be for Pragg. All of 16, and to have beaten the experienced & decorated Magnus Carlsen, and that too while playing black, is magical!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 21, 2022
Best wishes on a long & successful chess career ahead. You’ve made India proud! pic.twitter.com/hTQiwznJvX
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
