India's chess prodigy, R Praggnanandhaa, delivered an astounding victory over world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas. In a remarkable 39 moves, Praggnanandhaa defeated the five-time world champion, continuing his impressive streak in Classical, Rapid, and Blitz formats this year. The victory came in Round 4 of the group stage at the tournament, which uses a 10-minute plus 10-second increment time control.

Praggnanandhaa's stunning win adds to his growing list of achievements, as he has already won three tournaments this year and remains tied for first place in Group White with 4.5 points. His triumph over Carlsen came after a series of strong performances, including a draw against Abdusattorov, a win against Assaubayeva, and a victory over Keymer.

Despite starting strong with two wins, Carlsen faced setbacks, including losses to Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu, and Wesley So. He ended the round-robin phase with a shared fourth-place finish in his group, eventually being eliminated in the playoffs by Levon Aronian. This defeat knocked Carlsen out of title contention in Las Vegas, where he can now finish no higher than third.

The tournament, held at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, featured two round-robin groups, with the top four players from each advancing to the knockout bracket. Carlsen's struggles continued as he lost both of his playoff games to Aronian, who secured the final qualifying spot.

As the tournament progresses to the quarterfinals, Praggnanandhaa, along with Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov, leads Group White, while Hikaru Nakamura dominated Group Black. The knockout stage will determine the winner of the USD 200,000 first prize. Praggnanandhaa’s impressive win over Carlsen adds a significant milestone to his already successful career, proving he’s a force to be reckoned with in the world of chess.