In a historic match at the Norway Chess tournament, India’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa clinched his first-ever classical win against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen during the third round on Wednesday. The 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster’s triumph propelled him to the top of the open section standings.

Praggnanandhaa’s victory came as a result of a provocative opening by Carlsen. “His opening was provocative. I said he wants to fight, because otherwise he could play something solid. I didn’t mind at all. We’ll fight and we’ll see how it goes,” Praggnanandhaa told The Indian Express. Reflecting on his performance, he added, “I’m feeling good. The game was quite interesting. I got a very good position from the opening. I kind of misplayed it at some point… Maybe I was better throughout the game.”

Despite this momentous win, Praggnanandhaa was humble about his achievement, stating, “I don’t know, I will have to check. I didn’t think I played really well. I did find some best moves. It’s not my best game for sure.”

In other matches within the men’s section, Fabiano Caruana was defeated by Ding Liren, while Hikaru Nakamura triumphed over Alireza Firouzja in an armageddon showdown. Nakamura remarked on Carlsen’s approach, saying, “I wish Magnus would take these chances against me or against Fabi. I have this theory that when Magnus is playing the younger kids specifically he wants to sort of prove a point, he wants to go after them and try to beat them and he takes far more risks than he does against us old folks!”

Carlsen, reflecting on his loss, commented, “Obviously, a pretty risky opening choice today. I think his move 10.h3, though, was a little bit soft… I wasn’t overly impressed with that one.”

In the women’s section, Humpy Koneru defeated GM Lei Tingjie, while Pia Cramling drew with Ju Wenjun, and Vaishali held Anna Muzychuk to a draw. Vaishali’s performance earned her the top spot in the women’s standings after the third round.