R Praggnanandhaa. (File Photo)
BHUBANESWAR: R Praggnanandha took down China's World No 2 Ding Liren in the Classical format to register one of his biggest over-the-board wins in his nascent chess career. At the ongoing Wijk aan Zee meet in Netherlands, one of the biggest Classical meets in the calendar, the Indian completed a grinding endgame to beat Liren, who's a contender for this year's World Championship.
With the win, the 17-year-old's live rating stands at 2692, just eight away from 2700, considered as a magical figure in the world of Classical chess. The Indian, who won win black, also became one of the youngest players to beat a player as highly rated as Liren, rated at 2807.5.
After Praggnanandhaa, who had beaten Magnus Carlsen in a collection of online games during the pandemic, gained a pawn, he used that as the base to beat the Chinese. "Both were making some mistakes during the second time control, both of us were down to seconds," he told the organisers after the match. "Didn't think my technique was all that good but it's not easy to calculate everything.
"I was up an h pawn," he added. "Don't know what he missed but after the 40th move (the match lasted 73 moves), I was clearly better. It feels good. I was a little upset that I didn't convert my advantage yesterday (Tuesday). Praggnanandhaa had drawn against Germany's Vincent Kaymer after being in a good position to force a win.
The win lifts the Indian into joint third with 2.5 points from four. Netherlands' Anish Giri, who beat Carlsen on Tuesday, shares the lead with Nodirbek Abdusattorov who both have three points.
The other Indians in the field -- Arjun Erigaisi and D Gukesh -- have 1.5 and 1 points respectively after four rounds. Matches resume on Thursday.