Chess World Cup 2023 Final: Praggnanandhaa Fights Valiantly; Magnus Carlsen wins
R Praggnanandhaa put up a valiant fight against Magnus Carlsen in the Chess World Cup 2023 final
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen defeated Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa's by 1.5-0.5 in the tie-break in Baku on Thursday after the classical games ended in a stalemate. Magnus prevailed against Praggnanandhaa in a thrilling tiebreak and adds one more trophy to his collection!
Praggnanandhaa is the runner-up of the 2023 FIDE World Cup! The 18-year-old Indian prodigy had an impressive tournament! On his way to the final, Praggnanandhaa beat, among others, world 2 Hikaru Nakamura and 3 Fabiano Caruana! By winning the silver medal, Praggnanandhaa also secured a ticket to the FIDE Candidates.
Fabiano Caruana clinches third place in the 2023 FIDE World Cup and secures a ticket to the FIDE Candidates tournament next year, after prevailing against Nijat Abasov in the tiebreaks.
The results in the ongoing tournament also helped Praggnanandhaa qualify for Candidates 2024 tournament, which will be held in Canada.
Praggnanandhaa, thus, became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.
Chess World Cup 2023: Road to Final
The second 25+10 tie-break game ended in a draw in 22 moves as Carlsen played it safe after he had won the first.
Praggnanandhaa gave a stiff challenge to Carlsen in the first tie-break game. However, Carlsen overcame the problems due to Praggnanandhaa's 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.
Praggnanandhaa had an excellent run in the tournament. He defeated world No.2 Hikaru Nakamura and world No.3 Fabiano Caruana to set up a final against Carlsen.
