Tata Steel Chess set for a Carlsen-Pragg opening

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Kolkata: The Tata Steel Chess India is set for a high voltage start after R Praggnanandhaa was drawn to face Magnus Carlsen in the first round of the rapid category on Wednesday. In its sixth edition, the tournament will host the Indian chess contingent that won gold at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September. Last year, Maxime Vachier Lagrave won the rapid while Alexander Grishchuk won the blitz category. In the women’s category, Divya Deshmukh won the rapid while Ju Wenjun won the blitz.

Asked about his thoughts on Carlsen’s style of play, Praggnanandhaa said what always stood out was his resilience despite odds. “His will to win is something that I really admire,” he said. “He keeps playing even in positions that most people will agree for a draw, he just keeps playing and wins them. That’s something I really like.”

This will be the second time that Carlsen will be participating in the tournament. He had won the 2019 edition. Known to be picky about tournaments, Carlsen said he agreed to come here to check out the new talent. “A lot of the older players of my generation are not going to surprise you in a major way in terms of where they stand, but with the younger generation, it’s interesting to try and understand.”

Other top ranked players in this tournament are Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Wesley So, Vincent Keymer, Daniil Dubov, Vidit Gujrathi, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina, Koneru Humpy, Vaishali R and Harika Dronavalli.

Also present for the occasion was three-year-old Anish Sarkar, who recently became the youngest FIDE-rated chess player in the world with a rating of 1555. “It’s amazing to see the level he’s at,” said Carlsen. “My nephew is turning 4, he’s a bright young child, but I don’t see him getting a rating of 1500 anytime soon.”

A major talking point was the steady progress of Indian chess and this was Carlsen’s take: “I came to Chennai in August (2013), to look at the facilities and so on. I was told that I’m going to meet some of the better kids in the area to play, and it feels like half of the kids are now either GMs or some of them are even playing in top tournaments.

“That’s what has changed. Those kids back then are now the core of the Olympiad-winning team. Indian chess has come a long way since then, much thanks to Anand and what he did for Indian chess,” he said.

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