“Total Insanity!” || Magnus Carlsen IN SHOCK As Praggnanandhaa Sacs THE ROOK! (Magnus Vs Pragg!)

Magnus Carlsen is left in total shock as Praggnanandhaa sacs the rook in this unbelievable chess game taken from the 2022 Julius Baer Cup! This game was insane because Praggnanandhaa sacs 2 full rooks against Magnus Carlsen just to get attacking chances against the GOAT's king!
In the game Praggnanandhaa is playing as White and he opens with 1.e4, while Magnus Carlsen respods 1...g6 - the Modern Defense - a very risky decision by Magnus Carlsen! From there Praggnanandhaa develops his queenside, goes Nc3 / Be3, and then launches his h-pawn forward against Magnus Carlsen! Of course Magnus was in a fighting mood this game, so instead of blocking the pawn with an early ...h5, he simply goes ...Nf6, inviting an early h4-h5 and rook sacrifice from Praggnanandhaa! And of course Pragg agrees, so as early as move 7 Praggnanandhaa sacs the rook vs Magnus Carlsen!
From there the game was insane, with Praggnanandhaa continuing to shock Magnus Carlsen with a series of insane attacking ideas, including a second rook sacrifice later in the game! Of course Magnus is a tenacious defender, and he created his own chances and managed to shock Praggnanandhaa a few times as well! Overall, this game chess game between Praggnanandhaa and Maguns Carlsen may go down as the "Game Of The Year!"
#chess #chessgame #magnuscarlsen #praggnanandhaa

[@drmikechess]

What do you think of Praggnanandhaa's insane rook sacrifice on move 7 in this game?

[@KenFullman]

That was a really interesting game. I would also like to see the new opening that Magnus used against Ding Liren but you seem to have forgotten to include the link that you mention at 19:08

[@krabbernegen]

I thought it was a very strong move

[@nileshseban1335]

Usually calling Exchange sacrifice. It helped to propel and maintain his initiative, not made sure to convert into a win

[@agentxyz]

I love you channel!

[@HuBaks-jb2pn]

Not crazy at all, id probably make the same play. He gets a lead in development, pawn and minor with a weak king side for magnus. Rooks are also slow to get into the game giving orag a decent edge in the early to mid game.

[@leofangd8501]

Love it, Pragg being an absolute madlad! Takes a lot of guts to pull something like this against Magnus.

[@drmikechess]

Agreed! Praggnanandhaa is fearless, I think he has a very bright future in the chess world!

[@perkalov]

Nahh... its more a matter of playing style then guts.

[@drmikechess]

@@perkalov What's the difference? If someone's playing style is aggressive and fearless (always playing the strongest moves against the toughest competition, even if they're harder to play correctly), doesn't that mean that they have guts? Ok I hate to roast any top chess player but compare Pragg to Anish Giri (Sorry Anish!!!!), whenever Anish plays Magnus he plays very timid moves hoping to get a draw, even when that is not how he normally plays. Compare this to Pragg, he says "I will destroy you!" even to the GOAT and plays without fear! That is why the chess world loves Pragg!!!

[@Umesh12121]

​@@drmikechessthis game was indeed awesome.

[@SRK-I]

Magnus likes Pragg. Pragg looks up to Magnus.

[@FastForward-i4s]

Everybody looks up to Magnus😂

[@drmikechess]

@@FastForward-i4s 😂

[@drmikechess]

Go Pragg! haha

[@nuclear9977]

@@FastForward-i4sbut it’s different for pragy as he’s on his knees when Magnus shows up 😊

[@drmikechess]

@@nuclear9977 Bwahahahahaa

[@googooboyy]

Can't believe Pragg went for a draw. Magnus had his back to the walls, cornered, but returned his volleys well.

[@drmikechess]

Yes that was surprising to me too, at some point a draw against Magnus can be a good thing!

[@harrisonedokpayi3647]

Prag without doubt has the potential of being the world's best someday. His moves are insane!

[@coldFire2023]

In my opinion it is better to not have an Indian world chess champion than having a South Indian World chess champion.

[@monkeydluffy4292]

​@@coldFire2023😭

[@drmikechess]

Yes Pragg is absolutely fearless at the chess board!

[@drmikechess]

@@coldFire2023 Wooooaah what's wrong with south Indians? On this channel we love people of all nationalities, everyone is welcome here! Especially my viewers from India!

[@8A29AKSHANTMESHRAM-ib6so]

​@@coldFire2023why do you diffrenciate in south indian and indian

[@danh945]

Can't believe the vid is 20 mins long - that game flew by! Wow!

[@Ken-vy7zu]

Its 18mins bro

[@drmikechess]

Haha thank you sir! Sorry for the late reply, I'm glad you enjoyed the video though! This is how I try to do all my videos - very fast paced and entertaining, but also move-by-move explanations so everyone can understand what's going on!

[@drmikechess]

@@Ken-vy7zu Haha well close enough 😂

[@Lescouflair]

Thanks for explaining every move

[@georgeritmeester4736]

Please. Please! Stop referring to an exchange sacrifice as a rook sacrifice. And Pragg is not "down a full rook" after Qxh5. He's just down the exchange.

[@ianwoodruff3948]

Bro relax on the doc

[@Lemaus433]

Exactly. Everyone who does KZbin chess content just can't help themselves, they all go full Gotham Chess and like to say someone sacrificed THE ROOK!

[@MrQuantum-n3w]

Cool down bro don't be angry 😅

[@mastertoyang]

A sacrifice in chess can be: when you intentionally lose a stronger piece by taking a weaker piece to gain positional advantage

[@MrQuantum-n3w]

@@mastertoyang I agree 👍

[@jrousselle7828]

The speaker often says rook sacrifice when he should say exchange sacrifice.

[@IceCreamYummy2025]

Can't believe how Magnus manage the attack. Magnus is really a genius in End Game. More like engine activated.

[@RummanMahmudrumman13]

I don’t understand what "A very very slightly weak move" means. Anyone? 13:02

[@Masterdebater14]

Im guessing watching the evaluation bar and making a move thats move the bar slightly in opponents favour?

[@SuperGriffin65]

It allows black to exchange the rook for knight and pawn. Apparently by engine evaluation this move makes it a clear draw whereas before white had some chances with perfect play by pawn advances.

[@drmikechess]

I just meant not the most accurate move in the position, I will work on explaining this better in the future!

[@drmikechess]

@@SuperGriffin65 Thanks for explaining that one for me!👍

[@david1610]

Such an unusual and enjoyable game. Kudos to both!

[@perkalov]

It might be a brilliant move, but he sac's a quality. He still have exactly the same amount of peices on the board, as Carlsen. In fact, when this is done, he has "better" pieces, since light pieces tends to do better then rooks in the mid game. Edit: NO! He is absolutely not down a full rook. He is down a rook for a Knight or a quality. He has the exact same amount of pieces as Carlsen. Edit2: and ... no. Its also a quality. He still have the exact same amount of peices on the board.

[@techlover231]

Nice commentary, great game !

[@y1.5]

Prag and magnus had a draw but this KZbinr won views. Checkmate 🗿

[@missingnode]

No rooks were sacrificed during the making of the video.

[@fiscalcpiano]

Is there an official chess-specific definition of "sacrifice"? Colloquially the word makes perfect sense even if the word "exchange" is also valid.

[@missingnode]

@@fiscalcpiano Nothing official but only my opinion: "sacrifice" means giving up material in one way or another , "exchange" is just capturing pieces of equal value (i.e. exchange rooks -> both capture one rook) and then there is the "exchange sacrifice" where you give a rook for a minor piece. So yes, you give away the rook, but you get back a good part of that material in value. The description reads "sacs 2 full rooks", which is misleading because giving up a "full rook" means you'd get nothing for it at all in material (well, maybe a pawn). So, yes, there were sacrifices including the rooks. But I tried to keep as close to the "No animals were harmed..." as possible for the joke.

[@Pulsar.88]

Dude, I like the content. I could definitely watch more of these recaps. Keep it up please.

[@Perfecta762]

Its crazy how Magnus gives Prag all the advantages on the opening and still and end a draw, while Prag was at his peak and magnus just defending.

[@drmikechess]

Yes Pragg was in the 2600s in 2022 when the game was played, Magnus was the vastly better player but in 2024 Pragg even won a couple of games against Magnus in classical (I think - there was at least 1 game in the Sicilian Kan where he smoked Magnus!) so Pragg is definitely improving!

[@khairulamin6323]

Goat in the making

[@DexterHaven]

Pragg is the avocado of chess.

[@drmikechess]

Bwahahahahhahahaahaahhahahahaahhhahahahah 😂😂😂😂

[@grubengeist]

Great commentary!

[@0608abhishek]

Please understand the difference between a rook sacrifice and exchange sacrifice

[@Yeediatable]

Pragg chasing the rook with his king was a sign of temptation leading to losing sight of main goal.....lol

[@koenth2359]

Two rook sacs.. Gotham will be pleased.

[@gregmartin3425]

except they weren't

[@koenth2359]

@@gregmartin3425 No? 🥚🥚plain?

[@gregmartin3425]

@@koenth2359 a rook is worth about 5 points. A true rook sac gains at most a pawn ( 1 point), so you're down 4 points in material. If you exchange your rook (5pts) for a knight or bishop (3 pts), then you're only down 2 points. That is called an exchange sacrifice, not a rook sacrifice. A pawn is worth 1 point, so ask yourself if being down two pawns is the same as paying down four pawns? It certainly is not. A rook sacrifice is much more serious than an exchange sacrifice.

[@drmikechess]

@@gregmartin3425 Exchange sacrifice by definition is a type of rook sacrifice. If the rook is deliberately traded for lesser material value, that is a rook sac - be it 2 pawns, 4 pawns, knight, whatever. But yes exchange sacrifice is a more precise description, but rook sacrifice is also valid!

[@drmikechess]

@@gregmartin3425 Except they were

[@redwanurrahaman8644]

2:02 oh come on.Magnus was not begging to prag to sac the rook.I saw this game live,,He was praying and hoping for pragg not to sack the rook.when pragg sacked the rook,magnus was regretting for allowing the sac.

[@perkalov]

He might have been gambling on Pragg not doing it because "its Magnus"?

[@drmikechess]

He absolutely knew the best move was ...h5 instead of ...Nf6, which allows the move. Why would Magnus deliberately play a dubious move ...Nf6 which allows the idea? Either Magnus did not know the line (unlikely), or he allowed it on purpose to imbalance the game and get greater chances to outplay his weaker opponent (in my opinion, much more likely). I commentate a lot of Magnus Carlsen's games, he often plays provocative ideas like this trying to get highly imbalanced positions where its easier for him to outplay his opponent. Of course this is just my opinion, I could be wrong and without asking Magnus hmself its impossible to know for sure. But I do believe my explanation is the most likely one!

[@drmikechess]

@@perkalov Maybe, I still think he refrained from ...h5 and went ...Nf6 instead to see if Pragg would go for it!

[@perkalov]

@@drmikechess No matter this specific game... Plenty of players intentionally play less the optimal moves when playing weaker opponets. To imbalance or complicate. So, yes. But Magnus gets away with shit, just for being Magnus and I think he knows and uses that... Much in the same way. Hikaru pretty much constantly did it against Hans N during their match.

[@setothira6880]

​@@perkalov9i9k lo8😅😅😅😅ob 😅oi

[@hawkeyemihawk5697]

you call it a sacrifice? Mikhaik Tal is laughing in heaven.

[@leandromonteiro631]

And Shirov!

[@imalwayshungryyeesh]

LEVY: hmm

[@DrSergioValdez]

Commercial... Liberty Mutual...

[@strat_us]

Marvellous minds! Thanks for excellent commentary

[@poefpoef]

So good we have a different game of the year for every single day. This I think we will call the game of the year 521 AD.

[@koenth2359]

2:35 Down the full rook?? I count four white and only three black light pieces.

[@trubadorn8573]

5:40 the queen is not really pinned if white bishop moves to e8 - knight moves to d6 for a check - queen can move away safely - or knight goes for bishop

[@drmikechess]

Can someone check this for me and give this chess fan a good response? Sorry I'm a bit busy responding to as many comments as I can (there are so many lol), I don't have time to rewatch videos and recheck analysis to answer questions like this unfortunately :( But I hope someone can help answer your question for you!

[@trubadorn8573]

@@drmikechess thank u for your respondse. but there is not much to be checked. (aside my wrong time step - its about 5:25 when u talk about it ) its allready in the video. obviosly the knight wouldnt be much of a use after the supposed check on d6. moving the queen first ist the better move i belive. noverthenless your analysis about the pinned queen is incorect.

[@Grainier1Sta2]

​@@trubadorn8573nah you just completely give your knight if you move to d6 because rook would takes it and attacking the queen with the bishop at the same time, so queen must move, after the queen moved then rook move, so it is losing for white

[@trubadorn8573]

@@Grainier1Sta2 yes. but this is a more defined in depth analysis about this issue. the one in the vid is not - therefore its not correct if it comes to the conclusion why

[@seinlusnyongesa]

​@trubadorn8573 The video is good, but the analysis isn't deep.

[@SoNg-dh1me]

Thank you for the video!!

[@Gamer-xb1eo]

Great game by magnus. He turned a losing game into a draw. Amazing!

[@pavelhassan7457]

Magus wanted to win this, prog didn't want to lose

[@ChrisH-q6b]

Carlsen is like me playing Madden. There’s no competition left.

[@georgeritmeester4736]

The negative replies I received to my comment are quite amusing. Imagine if Magnus was commenting on a game in such a sloppy manner. Most players would be shocked.

[@drmikechess]

Lmao well chess youtube has spoken, and they generally agree that "rook sacrifice" is a valid way to describe the move. You might need to find something else to roast me about!

[@georgeritmeester4736]

​@@drmikechess ​@drmikechess If you can't accept basic facts about chess terminology, I guess I'm ready to move on. The last thing I need is commentary that makes me dumber instead of smarter.

[@KirubanithiKiruba-vo6ih]

Nowadays Pragg is like Varavara Mami tar kazutgapola aana in simple English Pragg is not playing like Fide championship games inspite of having all potential as per Magnus Carlson appreciate Pragg only playing by intuition

[@Shinyflubba]

This mike guy on his knees for magnus: "and magnus did this move which may not mean much but Ill remind you again that he is the greatest player in the world"

[@nsarkar80]

That was hilarious sir. The game blew my mind. Thanks for your wonderful explanation sir.

[@hoavo8676]

It's pretty brand new when I was given all the abilities from Faulken my master from my middle high-school Rochmond heights I had a prodigy named Richard Dixon that I know will be in the three thousands by next year after he clears his mind from all his demons.

[@xuover]

Thank you. Super exciting recap

[@StuartHollingsead]

Look at Prag's picture. Is he laughing? Issuing a battle cry challenge? Crying out in pain? It is a bit unclear.

[@ChrisH-q6b]

I’ve watched 2 of your videos. You’ve called 2 rook losses after iffy moves and 2 exchanges “sacrifices”. I haven’t seen a sacrifice yet.

[@gopalshekar986]

15:09 ".. inpossible to make Praggress!"

[@drmikechess]

Bwahahahaha 😂😂😂

[@Churmander]

yes Game of the Year impressive for the kid

[@Toxera1]

cool commentary! thanks for that.

[@peterkrauliz5400]

Why is this the game of the year? What's so great, man?

[@drmikechess]

Brother this was an absolutely incredible game, starting with the crazy rook / exchange sacrifice right in the opening!

[@koenth2359]

5:35 'lose the knight'. Not so fast, it could still play Nd6+.

[@srikrishnarr6553]

Loved your commentary ....

[@drmikechess]

Thank you so much! I will continue commentating this way!

[@dileephemmady2658]

Prag had the upper hand and he gave it up

[@rakeshpipada]

8:25 free pawn missed by queen to h7

[@johnfrancis4401]

Good ….you haven’t announced the result in the headline

[@edumart3836]

Pragg was lucky that Magus made some mistakes at the beginning, but later Magus ran the engine at 100% and defended brilliantly.

[@boitumeloketlogetswe9748]

😂well all games are lost on mistake it's not just magnus

[@drmikechess]

"Vladimir Kramnik has entered the chat!"

[@drmikechess]

@@boitumeloketlogetswe9748 Hahaha Magnus uses mind control to force mistakes out of everyone

[@songsterakshay3467]

This game is about focus, so one cannot use excuses for mistakes made. Conversely, by the same reasoning, it could be said that Praggnanandhaa also made mistakes; otherwise, he could have won more easily. Do not underestimate Indian players, as the game of chess originated in India during the Gupta dynasty in the 6th century. The earliest known form of chess was called chaturanga, which was played on an 8x8 grid and had pieces similar to those in modern chess.

[@alitopsecret]

​@songsterakshay3467 Yes jesus was also from India later he went to Israel. Prophet Muhammad also from India later went to arabia. Elon was indian too. 😆

[@psybranet]

Excellent game.

[@necrocleric13]

5:28 The knight wouldn't be pinned because it could move to d6 and fork the king and bishop. Plus, it would be a very strong knight.

[@DAVIDJIMENEZ-fc3tl]

Right. So correct.

[@zenastronomy]

18:45 why didn't he go k to b5 and try to corner the king?

[@drmikechess]

Can someone help this man out? Sorry I'm trying to respond to as many comments as possible!

[@rahuldey8222]

Prag felt short and Magnus capitalized, the end game. But prag was leading

[@humungous09]

It was an exchange sacrifice and not a rook sacrifice. Sea difference between both

[@drmikechess]

Exchange sacrifice is certainly a more precise way to describe it, but it's still a rook sac 😉

[@ChrisH-q6b]

A sacrifice is when you give up relatively substantial material for slight compensation, or equality, or slightly disadvantageous position but a slight psychological advantage. I watched 4 of your videos and you haven’t described it accurately once.

[@suginami123]

Epic. Astounding

[@NirajKumar-cy6he]

Two rooks sacrifices is better than one 😂

[@TheSeraphim75]

i always sacrifice my queen in an inferior position to be much worse 😅

[@seriouslysadmemes3883]

Bro thanks for the intresting content,keep it up

[@SivarajD-nx7zh]

Sir best chess game app tells sir plz

[@LivinglikeNoTomorrow]

How comes this is game of century....pragnanda has mistaken by taking Qx Bg7 best one is RxNd4...what do you say???

[@drmikechess]

I said year, not century, this was a very exciting game, I think the game justifies the title!

[@andrewpeters6396]

great stuff!

[@steveshuffle]

10:50 check can be blocked by rook with black queen as support. No major risk

[@ignatius5404]

Wow what a game what a explanation really cool thanks 😊

[@TulekBehar]

pausing to comment this game is very crazy

[@theGGAcademy]

A few mistakes from the commentary. You said a move to f6 but it was G6 to name one

[@lierx.agerate8230]

When he retreated queen back to h why didn't he just take the h pawn, can someone explain?

[@ВладимирАнтарин]

Stockfish 11 сыграл похожую партию с самим собой ( первые два хода выставлялись для изучения варианта ) - 1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 e6 4. Nf3 d6 5. O-O Nd7 6. d5 e5 7. c4 Be7 8. Be3 Bf6 9. Nc3 h6 10. g3 g5 11. Kg2 g4 12. Ne1 h5 13. Kg1 Nf8 14. a4 a5 15. Kg2 Bc8 16. Nb5 Bd7 17. Kg1 h4 18. Kg2 Ng6 19. Kg1 Bg7 20. Nc2 Bh6 21. Bxh6 Rxh6 22. Ne3 Nf6 23. b3 Ke7 24. Re1 Qh8 25. Qc2 Kd8 26. Bf1 hxg3 27. fxg3 Nf8 28. b4 N8h7 29. c5 bxc5 30. bxc5 Ng5 31. Bg2 Rxh2 32. cxd6 Nfxe4 33. Nxg4 Nf3+ 34. Kf1 Nxg3+ 35. Kf2 Nf5 36. dxc7+ Kc8 37. Nxh2 Qh4+ 38. Kf1 Ng3+ 39. Kf2 Ne4+ 40. Kxf3 Qf4+ 41. Ke2 Bxb5+ 42. axb5 Qf2+ 43. Kd1 Qd4+ 44. Kc1 Qa1 45. Qb1 Qc3 46. Qc2 Qe1 47. Kb2 Qb4 48. Kc1 Qe1+ 49. Kb2 Qb4+ 50. Kc1 Nc5 51. d6 e4 52. Kd1 Qxb5 53. Bh3+ Ne6 54. Qxe4 Qb3+ 55. Qc2 Qd5+ 56. Qd2 Qxd2+ 57. Kxd2 Ra6 58. Nf3 Rxd6+ 59. Kc3 Rd5 60. Bf1 Kxc7 61. Nd2 Rg5 62. Ne4 Rg4 63. Nf6 Rg3+ 64. Kd2 a4 65. Ne4 a3 66. Nc3 Kd6 67. Bc4 Rg2+ 68. Ke3 Ke5 69. Na2 Rb2 0-1

[@al-rujuubabdulone2045]

Did I really hear "A'pragg'ximately" 😅

[@drmikechess]

Haha ummm if I did that it was not on purpose, but it does work I suppose XD

[@HogeyeBill]

*Exchange* sacs, not rook sacs. Great game!

[@jaysant6958]

Is every exclamation point on the moves justified? Not used to seeing them back to back to back like that for each player’s turn.

[@Alexott]

05:34 ... Bishop to b8 would allow knight to check on d6 and sit there cozy or take the bishop.

[@JerryShunk-h8s]

Excellent interest factor!

[@tnekkc]

THIS is how to make a chess video

[@distortiontildeafness]

U can long Castleton the queens side ???

[@I.T-AccountingServicesJamaica]

Chess is a life game - it is not always about winning but Staying Alive.

[@re3z0r]

I feel like your face is a Halloween decoration

[@SivarajD-nx7zh]

Sir best online chess app say sir

[@Snceday1]

Not a cow unless knights go there

[@magictruth9]

Bro wow that my prep ❤

[@nurisk873]

I am very much disappointed with Pragg. Now I see he is no way can ever get close to grand mastership level of Magnus. Magnus is a legend and will be remembered with Kasparov.Fischer,Karpov but Pragg will be never be in that league

[@oviskurian]

Said by a 400 elo

[@aungmoe7052]

Magnus fights back at Q side is awlful.

[@johnkarford6430]

Why can't you take with the knight and then if bishop tries to for give check with knight

[@lordhelps1]

down the exchange and wins. nice!

[@morienpeters3502]

Very interesting, but could you talk any faster ????

[@drmikechess]

You want me to talk slower or faster? I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic haha, I get some people saying I’m too fast and others too slow lol

[@Martijn29009]

5:37 and then you give a check with the kngiht first, so your queen can then escape

[@FlopportunityKnocks]

Except that black plays Rxd6 and wins a knight. If white tries something like Qg4 to make a double threat, black can protect the g7 bishop with Rd7. Edit: White can take the e6 pawn, but it's very doubtful if he has enough compensation for a full rook.

[@VickysJukeboxJunction]

7:52 , wonder why pragg did not take the bishop with the rook , he could have easily gained a piece with this move 🤔

[@AdamAdam-jx6ed]

Pragg was so young when he made à draw with hikaru that was memorable à child prodigy as raised

[@russmarkham2197]

it looked like Magnus had Q x a2 at one point. if N x Q then R - d1 mate?

[@pi-hg8nm]

I forgot when the degenration of yt began.

[@HappyVedios101]

King takes d7 is possible but engine recommended rook takes d7

[@alexnovak201]

When he was wanting to do queen or knight take pawn why couldnt he have taken with the night, then after that gone knight to D6 with check, putting his knight right in the middle of blacks position, unable to be kicked with a pawn, and when king moves can still move the queen out of danger?

[@alexnovak201]

I'm just wondering what was the issue with that for my own chess, not in anyway thinking I know anything on these guys, obviously they know what they are doing

[@drmikechess]

Sorry I'm trying to reply to as many comments as possible, I don't always have time to look at the board positions, can someone help this man out?

[@Boetiuos]

"very very slightly weak moove" 🤔

[@kenlandsman6289]

At this point there should be Boxing until a winner is decided :{ )