Total Chess 2026: Pragg blunders mate in one, Carlsen misses chance

With his World no 1 spot on the line, Magnus Carlsen missed a chance for his first win in the fast classic and dropped to 2805.6 in the live ratings list. Carlsen could be disappointed since he found himself in a pleasant position out of the opening with White, with his opponent Shakriyar Mamedyarov choosing to play the Caro-Kann, in the Total Chess pilot on Saturday.

Thankfully for Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana who is now within touching distance of ending his 15 year run at the top, drew his game against Liam Le to drop 0.7 points to find himself below 2800.

Given his shaky play, Carlsen may not be able to hold on to his position for long.

In an absolute shocker, Pragganandhaa blundered a mate in one and lost a winning position with Black against Richard Rapport. With White down on material and its King at the edge of the board, Black was in a comfortably winning endgame. In a moment of madness chess players must only know too well, Praggnandhaa took his bishop back and tried to pin White's knight with it, opening up a path for White's queen and a mate in one.

With only three games remaining, Carlsen is in the bottom half of his group with Anish Giri topping it.

"To call 45+30 games 'classical' without even adding additional time on move 40 is utterly ridiculous," American GM Wesley So, who is playing in Budapest, wrote on X.

"All I see when watching the games here are time trouble, time trouble, plus more time trouble. Honestly, it feels more like blitz game than classical chess. Classical chess should give players enough time to demonstrate their calculation and understanding.

"On the bright side though my boy Fabiansky @FabianoCaruana looks like he's going to become World #1 soon. Advanced Congrats! I've always believed in him!"