“He deserves to lose!” said Peter Leko after Magnus Carlsen played 1.f3, but the World Champion had winning chances before drawing that game against Jan-Krzysztof Duda on the way to a 2.5:0.5 victory in Round 1 of the Oslo Esports Cup. Praggnanandhaa matched Magnus all the way, also winning two games with the black pieces, as he overcame Jorden van Foreest. Anish Giri won a rollercoaster 3rd game to defeat Eric Hansen, while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov took advantage of a Liem Quang Le mouse-slip on a day where no tiebreaks were needed.
You can replay all the games from the Oslo Esports Cup using the selector below.
And here’s the day’s live commentary from Tania Sachdev and Peter Leko, including a 1-hour Pre-Show with Maurice Ashley, Sagar Shah and Lawrence Trent…
…and from the Oslo studio with Kaja Snare, Jovanka Houska and David Howell.
All four matches in Round 1 of the Oslo Esports Cup were wrapped up in the rapid games, with Magnus Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa winning with a game to spare.
The highlights of the day were perhaps Magnus Carlsen’s decision to venture 1.f3!? for his first time in a serious game…
…and Praggnanandhaa’s steely defence and then counterattack against some typically inventive play from Jorden van Foreest.
That left the standings looking as follows after Day 1, with the winning players getting not just 3 points, but $7,500.
Come back later for more analysis and player comments!
Don’t miss all the Oslo Esports Cup action live here on chess24 from 17:00 CEST!
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