Al Abdulghani Motors CEO Abdulghani Nasser Al Abdulghani makes the first move in the game between Magnus Carlsen and Karthikeyan Murali. Qatar Chess Association President Mohammed Al Madhahka is also present.
Doha, Qatar: Magnus Carlsen suffered a huge setback at the Qatar Masters Open yesterday as the reigning world number one was stunned by India’s Karthikeyan Murali in the crucial seventh round at Lusail Multipurpose Hall.
It was the Norwegian's second defeat in the tournament, following a second round shock to Kazakhstan’s Alisher Suleymenov. With just 4.5 points to his credit, Carlsen slumped to 26th in the overall standings with only two rounds remaining in the prestigious championship.
The 24-year-old Murali – seeded 20th in the tournament, clinched the famous win with the black pieces while playing a picture-perfect game. One mistake from Carlsen paved the way for the Grandmaster from Thanjavur as he captured the edge and converted the endgame smoothly to raise his points tally to 5.5, sharing the lead with five others.
His compatriots SL Narayanan and Arjun Erigaisi also stayed at the top with neutral player David Paravyan, Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev joining the Indian trio.
Meanwhile, Erigaisi, the No.3 seed was held by Yakubboev.
Despite losing a valuable half a point, Erigaisi stayed optimistic and said he is looking forward to achieving a top position as he stressed difficulty of the competitions in the final few rounds.
“I was unlucky in the last two games, and I believe that all players still have the chance to win the title. I will try to put in more effort so that I can double my points tally,” Erigaisi said.
Meanwhile, No.2 seed American Hikaru Nakamura's draw streak continued in Lusail.
Nakamura, ranked third in the world, shared points this time against Iranian player Parham Maghsoodloo. Nakamura has now drawn two consecutive games, highlighting the fierce competition in this year's championship.
Anish Giri, ranked seventh in the world, managed to secure a victory against Indian Karthik Venkataraman as the Dutchman boosted his score to five points, placing him in the ninth position.
Narayanan, meanwhile, continued to impress as he secured a draw against Uzbekistan's Jovokhir Sindarov, seeded 12th. Qatar’s sole contestant Husain Aziz lost his game against No.34 seed Vugar Rasulov.
