Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa’s dream run in the FIDE World Cup ended at the hands of world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, who beat him 1.5-0.5 in the tie-break here on Thursday after the classical games ended in a stalemate.
The second 25+10 tie-break game ended in a draw in 22 moves as the Norwegian legend played it safe after he had won the first, displaying his end-game skills.
It was Magnus Carlsen’s first World Cup triumph, having won the World Championship five times.
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Magnus Carlsen overcame a stiff challenge from his 18-year-old Indian opponent in the first tie-break game, winning it in 45 moves. He overcame the problems he encountered due to R Praggnanandhaa’s enterprising play to turn the tables and seize the advantage. The two classical games on Tuesday and Wednesday had ended in draws forcing the final to a tie-break.
R Praggnanandhaa enjoyed an incredible run in the tournament, having beaten world No.2 Hikaru Nakamura and world No.3 Fabiano Caruana to set up a final date against Magnus Carlsen. The results in the ongoing tournament also helped R Praggnanandhaa qualify for Candidates 2024 tournament, which will be held in Canada.
R Praggnanandhaa, thus, became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.
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