Magnus Carlsen did not cope with the Indian school

The most notable character of the major online chess tournament Aimchess Rapid, the last stage of the “regular season” of the Champions Chess Tour series, had a chance to become the hero of the recent World Chess Olympiad Gukesh Dommaraj even before its finish. At 16, the Indian prodigy became the youngest player to beat world chess leader Magnus Carlsen in the almost ten-year span that the Norwegian held the title.

This event, which happened shortly before the finish of the Aimchess Rapid tournament, attracted the attention of many chess media resources. Shortly before the finish of the preliminary stage, where eight of those who go to the playoffs are selected from 16 participants, world champion Magnus Carlsen met with Indian grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju. The Norwegian had black pieces, at some point he got a very good position, but then everything turned upside down, and not very successful moves by Carlsen led to the victory of his opponent.

She was a rather remarkable event. Misfires by Magnus Carlsen are rare in principle, even in rapid chess (namely, this is the format used on Aimchess Rapid). But in this case, the Norwegian was beaten by an opponent at the age of 16 years and 4 months. And this is a kind of record. Carlsen has not lost to such young chess players as Gukesh since he won the title at the end of 2013. In fact, from that moment began the era of his almost absolute dominance in world chess.

And, curiously, Gukesh Dommaraju beat a very fresh achievement of another Indian Rameshbabu Pragnanandhi. He beat Magnus Carlsen in February at the Airthings Masters tournament and was at that moment two months older than his compatriot. And one more curious nuance. A day before Gukesh Dommaraju, Arjun Erigaisi from India dealt with Carlsen as part of the Aimchess Rapid. He is 19 years old.

For one of the most authoritative resources in chess, ChessBase, these defeats by Magnus Carlsen were an occasion to recall, first of all, the sharp rise of the Indian chess school and its most talented students, which turned into an informational hit throughout the season.

The sensation of the World Chess Olympiad held in Chennai in the summer there was a performance the second team of India, formed just almost entirely from teenagers, such as Gukesh Dommaraju and Rameshbabu Pragnanandha. She won silver, leaving only the Uzbek team ahead. And the performance of Gukesh Dommaraju plunged even experienced experts into a state close to shock. The Indian youngster did not suffer losses until the ninth round of the competition, leaving no chance even for celebrities like the Spaniard Alexei Shirov, the Armenian Gabriel Sargsyan and the American Fabiano Caruana, a participant in the 2018 championship match. Gukesh Dommaraju lost a little only at the end of the Olympiad, gaining one point in three rounds after his phenomenal series. But even this decline did not deprive him of the status of the undisputed best chess player of the tournament, in which Magnus Carlsen himself played.

Only the fact that the Norwegian at Aimchess Rapid could afford not to overexert himself somewhat reduces the value of Gukes Dommaraju’s victory. This tournament is the final leg of the “regular season” of the major commercial Champions Chess Tour launched by Magnus Carlsen. But ahead of him, Carlsen has already managed to secure a ticket to the final of the project, which will be hosted by San Francisco: eight grandmasters will play in it. As for Gukesh Dommaraju, Aimchess Rapid is a chance for him to get it.

Alexey Dospekhov