R Praggnanandhaa reacted to his victory over Magnus Carlsen on Tuesday (June 2) in the eighth round of the ongoing 2026 Norway Chess competition in an exclusive interaction with Times Now as he finds himself on the cusp of a historic title victory. The Indian chess star has defeated the world No. 1 twice in the competition after also clinching victory over him last week.
Reacting to his victory over arguably the greatest chess player of all time for the second time in row, Praggnanandhaa remained humble and stated that he was happy with the quality of his performance and stated that it was more important to get a victory at this stage of the competition rather tha beating Carlsen.
“I think my overall game quality has been good, but there were some moments which didn’t go my way earlier in the tournament. But in this timestamp, it’s what every game is showing us, so I’m happy that I managed to bounce back into the tournament. But still, I think the last two games are extremely important, so I’m just focusing on that,” said Praggnanandhaa.
“I think it was a good game, so that’s something I think I’m happy about. The game quality overall was quite good and yes, I think that’s what I’m most happy about. Of course, beating Magnus in any format is great, but I think for me, the most important thing is that winning in classical at this stage of the tournament is much more important,” he added.
Praggnananda Hails Indian Women Chess Players
Talking about the rise of Indian chess players, Praggnanandhaa pointed out that they have had a rough period over the last year but specifically praised the female contingent for their success. He pointed out his sister R Vaishali’s incredible achievement of winning the candidates’ tournament, which means she will play against reigning winner Ju Wenjun of China in the Women’s World Championship later this year with the aim of becoming the first-ever Indian female classical world champion.
I mean, my sister won the Women’s Candidates and she’s going to play the Women’s Championship, and also Divya has been doing well and Amte has also been doing really well with other women players. So, I mean, women are doing really well, but I think we were like, I think the Open, we were like doing, we were not having such a great time in last few months, but always like whenever we are playing a tournament, we are always giving our best and trying to fight for the World Cup spot,” said Praggnanandhaa.
Praggnanandhaa defends Gukesh
While Praggnanandhaa is having a great tournament and has a chance to win the tournament after finding himself on third spot in the table, it has not been the same for his compatriot Gukesh. The world champion is on the last spot in the standings. However, the 20-year-old played down any concern over Gukesh’s form and claimed it was too early to say he is having a bad tournament.
“But I mean, it’s too early to say I have a bad tournament or something. I mean, two days back, you would probably say that I have a bad tournament, and then two days later, like we’re talking about something else. Yeah, I mean, so in this tournament, you just need like one or two wins to put one’s back. So, yeah, I mean, I don’t really like, to me, I was just like bad tournament, good tournament, they do happen. Like it’s just one tournament and like you don’t really, you can’t really read too much into it.
“I mean, maybe Magnus is not having a good tournament here, but he’s still probably the best. So, he has been winning all the tournaments that he has been playing like the last 20 or so. Yeah, it’s just one tournament, not too much,” Praggnanandhaa stated.
Praggnanandhaa Delighted With Viewership On Times Network
Praggnanandhaa was delighted to be informed about the impressive viewership figures for the tournament, which is being telecast on TV by the Times Network, and urged fans to continue watching the last two rounds of the competition.
“It’s really nice to know the numbers. Yeah, I’m very happy to know that so many people are watching.
I really thank them for being there every day. And I mean, there are two more games, so do tune in and watch and support us,” Praggnanandhaa concluded.
