Magnus Carlsen after losing to Pragg: ‘My nervous system just collapsed against Praggnanandhaa… after that I sucked’

READ: Magnus Carlsen defeats all 9 players in a row to win Superbet Rapid and Blitz Poland event

“Pretty much every game tomorrow is a must-win for sure,” Carlsen admitted. Sunday is the final day of the Warsaw leg at the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz.

He opened up about the bruising battle against Praggnanandhaa in Round 11.

“I just didn’t have it today. I felt good from the start, but then I think my nervous system just collapsed during or after the game against Pragg, and after that I just sucked, honestly. The score was still half-decent, but obviously if Wei Yi continues to win then it doesn’t matter,” Carlsen told grandmaster Cristian Chirila four hours later.

Standings after Saturday’s action ended

Carlsen left frustrated

Carlsen showed his frustration very evidently in another game, this time against Uzbek prodigy GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

A rollercoaster of emotions from Magnus! #SuperbetRapidBlitzPoland #grandchesstour #magnuscarlsen pic.twitter.com/2kIKqWnD6D

— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) May 11, 2024

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Carlsen got into time trouble while in a winning position in the match against Abdusattorov and ended up blundering his queen and in the end he jumped back out of his seat and punched the air in frustration.

“I have no sense of anything with a few seconds,” Carlsen later admitted.

It must be noted that Praggnanandhaa himself didn’t recover after that win over Carlsen.

The 18-year-old from India was within just one point of Carlsen in third place, but after beating the World No 1, he lost the next two games.