Qatar Masters 2023: Karthikeyan Murali scripts history becoming third Indian player to beat Magnus Carlsen in classical chess

Karthikeyan Murali has inked his name in the history book becoming the third Indian to emerge triumphant against Magnus Carlsen in the classical chess format.

Qatar: 24-year-old Indian chess Grand Master (GM), Karthikeyan Murali has registered his name in history books stunning the world's top-ranked player, Magnus Carlsen. The historic victory came in the seventh round of the Qatar Masters 2023 as the Indian player skilfully placed black pieces on the chessboard to win the game.

Thanks to the win, Murali joined the leading group of players SL Narayan, Javokhir Sindarov, David Paravyan, Arjun Erigaisi, and Nodirbek Yakubboev, as all of them hold a brilliant score of 5.5 out of 7.

Karthikeyan hails from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu and is a two-time national champion. However, he elevated his performance on Thursday to achieve a historic feat. Coming into the game, he had managed a draw against Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran with a combination of flawless game and anticipating the opponents' moves.

Carlsen has suffered a second defeat in the tournament while Karthikeyan will face Grand Master Vishwanathan Anand in tournament later. Earlier in the tournament, he had beaten Madhavan Hari, Q Bi Chen, NR Vishakh, and now Carlsen, besides drawing with R Vaishali, Yueheng Jin, and Maghsoodloo.

According to Chessbase India, Karthikeyan has become the third Indian to beat Carlsen in the classical chess format. Pentala Harikrishna had defeated the Norwegian in 2005. Vishwanathan Anand is the other Indian to beat him and Karthikeyan joined the list today. Also, with the defeat, it is now unlikely that Carlsen will defend his Qatar Masters title.