In the semi-final, Indian grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa defeated USA’s Fabiano Caruana in tiebreaks.
On Monday, Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated USA’s Fabiano Caruana in tiebreaks in the action-packed semi-final clash, paving the way for a showdown with World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the FIDE World Cup 2023. Praggnanandhaa defeated Caruana in the semi-finals with a score of 3.5-2.5 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Praggnanandhaa’s remarkable victory over Caruana has also qualified him for the Candidates 2024.
Praggnanandhaa surprised World No.3 Caruana when the two-game classical series ended 1-1 in Baku. Praggnanandhaa was won after an exciting tie-breaker. Viswanathan Anand, a chess veteran, lauded the 18-year-old Indian prodigy on Twitter, praising the Indian Grandmaster. “Pragg advances to the final! He defeated Fabiano Caruana in a tiebreak and will now play Magnus Carlsen. “What a performance!” said the chess great.
On Sunday, the young Grandmaster leveled the second game of the FIDE World Cup semi-final match, forcing the penultimate duel of the showcase tournament into a tie-break for a winner. Praggnanandhaa of India and Caruana of Brazil tied the match in 47 moves on Sunday. Previously, Praggnanandhaa had equaled the feat originally accomplished by Indian chess legend Anand. Praggnanandhaa was the second Indian chess player to reach the World Cup semi-finals.
Candidates for the third youngest player
Praggnanandhaa will lead the Candidate’s tournament next year after the World Cup. The main tournament in 2024 will choose the challenger to the incumbent World Chess Champion, Ding Liren. Carlsen, who will face the Indian Grandmaster in the FIDE World Cup 2023 final, won the first game on Saturday against Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov. Carlsen agreed to a draw 74 moves after winning the first game to become Baku’s first FIDE World Cup 2023 finalist. Aleksandra Goryachkina beat 20-year-old Bulgarian Nurgyul Salimova in the women’s final by winning the second 25-minute fast game.
‘I didn’t expect to play Magnus,’ says the player.
Praggnanandhaa is the third youngest player to qualify for the Candidates tournament, behind legendary Bobby Fischer and current World No.1 Carlsen.”I didn’t expect to face Magnus in this tournament because the only way I could face him was in the final one, which I didn’t expect to be in.” “I’ll just do my best and observe how it goes!” Praggnanandhaa was cited by PTI as saying. “It feels really good to be chosen for the Candidates; I really wished had secured this spot,” he added.
