In rather less than six minutes and with simply 20 strikes on the board, Magnus Carlsen, the world’s biggest participant of this technology, had waved the white flag of give up in a blitz recreation. His conqueror, 21-year-old Arjun Erigaisi, had achieved the unthinkable: inflict a defeat on the World No.1, the Norwegian’s first on the Tata Metal Chess India match in 17 video games throughout the fast and blitz codecs. To not point out, Arjun Erigaisi was taking part in with black items.
Within the span of these 20 strikes, Arjun Erigaisi had made issues deeply uncomfortable for Magnus Carlsen on the board. The World No.1 seemed away into the ocean of individuals seated on his left on the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata, muttered issues to himself underneath his breath, shook his head in self-dejected annoyance and possibly made a captured piece very nauseous by quickly turning it time and again in his hand with the vigour of a spin bowler.
By the point the tip got here and a dejected Magnus Carlsen prolonged his hand throughout the board in the direction of his conqueror, Carlsen’s king had been made to jog round from one sq. to a different for survival in a method that Carlsen’s kings will not be used to being handled. However at the least the king had achieved some work within the recreation. Carlsen’s rooks — these sentries that stand within the nook of the board and receives a commission the massive bucks for the harm they’ll inflict — have been assassinated by Arjun’s knights with out them even getting away from bed.
It was that kind of recreation that made even these watching it really feel a bit of baffled. Tania Sachdev, who was on commentary obligation for the Chess.com broadcast, in some unspecified time in the future gasped: “Is it that easy?”
5-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, sitting subsequent to her in commentary, shrugged: “It’s that easy!”
INTERACTIVE: How Arjun Erigaisi beat Magnus Carlsen in simply 20 strikes
Arjun Erigaisi had began the sport by choosing a French variation of the Sicilian Defence. His knights had began to bear down on Carlsen’s military from the eighth transfer with the kingside knight charging ahead to g4 after which hopping over to the f2 sq. on the subsequent transfer. On the eleventh transfer, Magnus Carlsen misplaced his first rook. Carlsen responded with a blunder: providing an trade of queens by pushing his queen to f4 on transfer 12.
Arjun Erigaisi selected to disregard that provide, as an alternative giving Carlsen’s king a examine. By the 14th transfer, Carlsen’s king was on the run. Two knights and Arjun’s queen had the white king of their sights.
Arjun’s king-side knight, having already accounted for considered one of Carlsen’s rooks, now began to chase Carlsen’s king.
Two strikes later, Arjun’s queen-side knight had murdered a white knight and the second rook.
It was right here that Magnus Carlsen determined to combat fireplace with fireplace and despatched his queen forwards to assault in a determined Hail Mary of a transfer. Three strikes later, the sport ended with Carlsen having simply 9 items left on the board (with each rooks, two further pawns and a knight much less). Barring a few pawns and a bishop, Arjun’s military was nonetheless unscathed.
Beginning the day with a recreation of golf earlier than sitting down on the chessboard!#tsci2024 #TSCI #tatasteelchessindia #chess #indianchess #kolkata #funday #{golfing} pic.twitter.com/Vw0CHxX0Np
— Tata Metal Chess India (@tschessindia) November 16, 2024
Magnus Carlsen began his Saturday with a spherical of golf in Kolkata after a profitable fast part, which he had received with out breaking right into a sweat. Then, he went to the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium and raced to the lead on the leaderboard after seven blitz video games. He had defeated SL Narayanan, Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Nihal Sarin whereas accepting attracts towards Wesley So and Daniil Dubov.
Then Arjun Erigaisi occurred.
Arjun Erigaisi crushes Magnus Carlsen in 20 strikes with the black items — the World no. 1’s 1st loss in #TataSteelChessIndia this 12 months! https://t.co/FKdLhuE3sh pic.twitter.com/tUCb7T9a8R
— chess24 (@chess24com) November 16, 2024
“Clearly Magnus simply forgot one thing in his prep,” mentioned Anand within the commentary sales space for Chess24. “He performed one thing very quick and subsequent factor he knew… knight f2 (Nf2, Arjun’s 14th transfer) is the form of transfer that’s so unintuitive.”
Simply after successful the fast part on the Tata Metal India match on Friday, Magnus Carlsen had spoken about how happy he was to defeat Arjun.
“The sport towards Arjun was actually my favourite of those right here. He’s a particularly harmful participant when he has the initiative, when he will get to assault, and I kind of willingly received right into a place the place he had the initiative. So I’m very glad that although my play was clearly removed from excellent, that I managed to deal with the ensuing sophisticated place higher than he did and to get the win there,” mentioned Carlsen who had famously referred to as Arjun a “mad man on the chess board”.
On Saturday, Arjun justified that title.
