Monday saw R Praggnanandhaa maintain his unbeaten streak at the FIDE Chess World Cup as he defeated World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5 in the tiebreaker to advance to the final match against Magnus Carlsen.
The 18-year-old defeated the highly rated American GM in a tense tie-breaker after the two-game classical series finished in a 1-1 draw.
Tuesday will mark the start of the final between Praggnanandhaa and five-time champion Carlsen, who won his semifinal match against Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan 1.5-0.5.
After the renowned Bobby Fischer and Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa has qualified for the Candidates tournament as the third-youngest player.
“I didn’t expect to play Magnus in this tournament at all because the only way I could play him was in the final, and I didn’t expect to be in the final. I will just try to give my best and see how it goes! It feels really good to qualify for the Candidates; I really wanted to fix this spot,” he said after booking a spot in the summit clash.
Chess legend Viswanathan Anand posted on X, formerly Twitter, “Pragg goes through to the final! He beats Fabiano Caruana in the tiebreak and will face Magnus Carlsen now. What a performance!”
Pragg earned a position in the Candidates tournament in 2024, becoming just the second Indian, after Anand, to make it to the World Cup semifinals, which will decide the rival to Ding Liren. The top three finishers in the competition advance to the Candidates competition in 2024 to determine Liren of China's challenger as the reigning world champion.
(Photo: Twitter/ChessbaseIndia)
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