Delhi Dynamite Defeat Magnus Carlsen And The Norway Gnomes, Qualify For Playoffs
The Delhi Dynamite defeated GM Magnus Carlsen and the Norway Gnomes today in a lopsided 11.5-4.5 match score. Although coming into this match tied for second place in the Eastern Division, Delhi needed at least a draw to clench a spot in this year's playoffs. With Norway sitting just out of playoff qualification in the Eastern Division, a match win today was critical. However, in the end, board one for Delhi matched Carlsen's score and GM M R Lalith Babu on Delhi's board two managed a perfect 4/4 which made all the difference.
Interestingly, with everything on the line for Norway, Carlsen chose, shall we say, less than critical opening lines. He entertained the fans with truly risky and dubious opening play, essaying 1.Na3, 1.f3, and the Portuguese variation of the Scandinavian Defense rarely seen (if ever?!) at the top level.
After a bizarre loss by Carlsen in round three, he was out for blood. Check out his last round game against his board-one opponent GM Vaibhav Suri in which Suri walked right into a wild variation of the Scandinavian. The sacrificial line played by Carlsen is actually known, but it sure is fun to watch the sparks fly!
2018 PRO Chess League | Week 8 | Delhi Dynamite vs Norway Gnomes
| Gnomes | Dynamite | Vaibhav Suri | M R Lalith Babu | Sahaj Grover | Hemant Sharma | 11.5 |
| Magnus Carlsen | 3 | |||||
| Nils Grandelius | 1 | |||||
| Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen | 0.5 | |||||
| Francisco Silva Gonzalez | 0 | |||||
| 4.5 | 3 | 4 | 2.5 | 2 | ||
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