NEW DELHI: In a remarkable display of skill and determination, Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa secured a stunning victory over the world number one. 3 Fabiano Caruana with a score of 3.5-2.5 in the tiebreak series of the tournament World Football Championship chess tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan on Monday.
04:35
Chess World Cup: Indian Grandmaster reaches World Cup final; beat the world no. 3 Fabiano Caruana
With this stunning victory, Praggnanandhaa was named the third youngest player in history, following in the footsteps of legends Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen, to qualify for the Candidates tournament.
After a series of two classic games that ended in a 1-1 draw, the 18-year-old Indian prodigy showed his prowess by beating the highly regarded American GM in an intense match.
This intense encounter of mental strength saw Pragnanandhaa triumph over his opponent.
Now, Praggnanandhaa will face Norway’s Carlsen in the final, marking an important achievement in his career. chess career.
“Pragg goes to the final! He beat Fabiano Caruana in the tiebreak and will now face Magnus Carlsen. What a performance!”, chess legend Viswanathan Anand posted on ‘X’, previously is Twitter.
“I don’t expect to play Magnus in this tournament at all because the only way I can play him is in the final, and I don’t expect to be in the final either. I’ll do my best. and see how.” it happens!”, he said after booking a spot in the summit clash.
“It’s great to qualify for Candidate; I really want to fix this position.”
With two 25’+10″ games ending in a 1, Praggnanandhaa dominated the first 10’+10″ game against Caruana to get a draw in the final match against the world’s No. Carlsen world.
In the first tie-break, GM India came under a lot of pressure from Caruana and held a draw in a fascinating encounter. The second fastest game had a similar result, pushing the semi-final to a 10’+10′ series.
Praggnanandhaa is in very good form at the World Cup and his biggest scalp against Caruana was another American Hikaru Nakamura, world No 2 and second seed, he then stopped compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.
“Congratulations to @rpragchess for winning against Fabiano and making it to the final at the 2023 World Cup! Proud and happy!” chess coach RB Ramesh wrote on ‘X’.
Former female world No. 1 Susan Polgar also praised the young Indian GM.
“Congrats to GM Praggnanandhaa on reaching the 2023 World Cup final to face Magnus! He beat world No. 2 Fabiano in the playoffs for the coveted spot! He also beat No. The previous 3 Hikaru worlds!”
AICF President Sanjay Kapoor said: “Congrats to Praggnanandhaa @rpragchess on his incredible win and making it to the FINAL of @FIDE_chess World Chess Championship. Acclaim! Indian chess lovers can’t wait for the Finals as it promises to be a HOT Competition with World No. 1 player @MagnusCarlsen on the other side!”
By becoming the second Indian after Anand to reach the semi-finals of the world cup, Praggnanandhaa won a spot in the 2024 Candidates event to determine the challenger Ding Liren.
The top three finishers in the tournament qualify for the 2024 Candidates event to determine the challenger to current world champion Liren of China.
(With PTI input)
Leave a Reply