For the second straight day, R. Praggnanandhaa won with a round to spare and emerged as the leader before Magnus Carlsen suffered a shock defeat in the second round of the Oslo Esports Cup online rapid chess tournament on Saturday.
The Indian talent crushed Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2.5-0.5 to lead the field with six points. Since each victory in the best-of-four rapid games is worth $,7500, Praggnanandhaa has so far earned a bonus of $15,000.
Playing white in the first game, Praggnanandhaa capitalised on Mamedyarov’s dubious bishop-capture on the 25th move and weaved a checkmating net around the black king in 32 moves.
