Karthikeyan stalls Carlsen progress with slick moves

Indian GM Murali Karthikeyan on Wednesday beat world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen to stall the former champion’s progress at the $120,000 Qatar Masters.
Karthikeyan, 24, posted an impressive win against the five-time world champion with the Black pieces in the seventh round of the tournament at Lusail Sports Arena. Carlsen, who won the Qatar Masters in 2015, has slipped down to 28th spot after seven rounds.
Karthikeyan is now the third Indian to beat Carlsen after Pentala Harikrishna edged the Norwegian at Lausanne Young Masters, 2005. After Magnus became the World No. 1 player, Karthikeyan is only the second Indian to defeat him in classical chess.
Karthikeyan now sits pretty at 5.5/7 with two rounds to go at the premier chess tournament. India’s SL Narayanan, Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov, India’s Arjun Erigaisi, David Paravyan, Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan and Karthikeyan share the lead at 5.5 points each.
Hikaru Nakamura of the US on Wednesday lost ground when he drew with Iranian GM Parham Maghsoodloo to finish round seven at 5 points (overall in 7th spot).
“This is the future for him (Carlsen). The Indians are coming for him,” Nakamura was quoted as saying on X handle chess24.com. “It’s going to be one Indian after another, after another, after another, after another ...”
Dutchman Anish Giri, ranked seventh in the world and third in the tournament, defeated Indian GM Venkataraman Karthik, ranked 32nd in the tournament, to enhance his score by reaching his fifth point, climbing up to ninth place overall.
Narayanan tied with Uzbekistan’s Sindarov to maintain the top spot in the Qatar standings. Sindarov is second in the standings.
Indian GM Erigaisi drew with Uzbek Nodirbek Yakubboev, seeded 19th in the tournament, raising his score to 5.5 points to occupy third place.
Erigaisi, 20, said: “I was unlucky in the last two games. I believe that all players still have the chance to win the title, and I will try to put in more effort so that I can double my points tally.”
American Gregory Kaidanov, seeded 35th in the tournament, defeated Dutchman Jorden Van Foreest, seeded eighth in the tournament, raising the American player’s score to 4.5/7.
Among the Arab players, UAE’s Salem Abdul Rahman, ranked 14th in the tournament, tied with Rudik Makarian, ranked 37th in the tournament. The Emirati chess star is at 4.5 points, occupying 23rd place. Qatar’s Hussein Aziz, ranked 141st in the tournament, on Wednesday lost to Azerbaijan’s GM Vugar Rasulov, ranked 34th in the tournament. Aziz, with just two rounds to go, has accumulated 3 points from seven rounds.
Meanwhile Qatar’s top female chess player Aisha al-Khulaifi, who is taking part in the International B Tournament being held on the sidelines of the Qatar Masters, said: “We feel proud to be part of the event we are competing in. The Qatar Masters, overall, has received great media spotlight from around the world over the course of the last seven-eight days. Just two rounds remain and we will know who wins the Qatar Masters title.”
She added: “The Qatar Masters is considered to be one of the strongest open tournaments in the world. The competition atmosphere is electric at Lusail Sports Arena. I want to thank the Qatar Chess Association for their efforts to put together this amazing chess tournament in such fine fashion.”
Al-Khulaifi concluded: “I believe that competing in the International B Tournament is an amazing opportunity for young male and female players from Qatar. We are getting invaluable experience just by competing here.”
The International B Tournament is being contested by 94 male and female players ranked under 2,300 points.
Filipino player Rustum Tolentino continues to lead the standings at the end of the seventh round with 7 points, followed by Omani player Hamood al-Busaidi (6 points).