R Praggnanandhaa
Baku (Azerbaijan): Former World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway secured his first FIDE World Cup victory here today, defeating India’s teenage prodigy R Praggnanandhaa in the tiebreaks. This was the only tournament that Carlsen hadn’t yet won.
32-year-old Carlsen defeated the 18-year-old Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa in the tiebreaks in the finals that lasted one and a half hours. It took him two tiebreak games to clinch the victory. In the first rapid tiebreaker, both players were evenly matched in the Giuoco Piano till Praggnanamdhaa misplayed while attacking the black king and thereafter landed in time trouble and blundered with move 42.a6. He again misplayed the next two moves and on move 47, the young Indian resigned. This made Carlsen win with black pieces.
In the second tiebreaker, a draw was agreed as early as move 22, securing first place for the Norwegian.
Praggnanandhaa displayed remarkable skills and confidence during the tournament, unsettling many top-world players despite his young age.
In the match for third place, Fabiano Caruana of the United States came from behind, defeating local boy Nijat Abasov with white pieces in a hard-fought game.
Meanwhile, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Chess Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa for his remarkable performance at the FIDE World Cup. The Prime Minister posted on X: “We are proud of Praggnanandhaa for his remarkable performance at the FIDE World Cup! He showcased his exceptional skills and gave a tough fight to the formidable Magnus Carlsen in the finals. This is no small feat. Wishing him the very best for his upcoming tournaments.”
The winners of the top three places in both men’s and women’s sections qualified for the 2024 Candidates tournament.
It may be mentioned that FIDE World Cup 2023, was being here between July 29 and August 25, 2023, and in the Open tournament, 206 players were eligible to take part and 103 in the Women’s event. There were eight rounds in the Open and seven in the Women’s tournament. Each round was played under a knock-out system, consisting of a 2-game match. In the case of a tie, the players played a rapid and, if necessary, a blitz tiebreak until the winner was determined.
In both events, the time control for each game was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.
– global bihari bureau
