Chess World Cup: R Praggnanandhaa wants to give his best against Magnus Carlsen in final

Indian chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa hopes to give his all against world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the final of the FIDE World Cup chess tournament.

Praggnanandhaa is only the second Indian chess player to reach the World Cup finals, after Viswanathan Anand.

Continuing his dream run, Praggnanandhaa defeated Caruana in the semifinals 3.5-2.5 on a tie-break to set up a showdown with world number one and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway at FIDE’s premier event. Praggnanandhaa defeated Caruana in four rapid tiebreak games and advanced to the showpiece final.

After a 1-1 tie in the two-game classical series, the Indian prodigy outlasted the highly-rated American GM in a tense tie-breaker. Praggnanandhaa also became the first Indian to reach the FIDE World Cup final since Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion, in 2002.

Praggnanandhaa will look to continue his dream run against five-time World Chess Cup champion Magnus Carlsen, who qualified for the final with a comfortable win over Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov in his semifinal.

“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!,” Praggnanandhaa said after booking a spot in the summit clash.

“It feels really good to qualify for the Candidates; I really wanted to fix this spot.”

Earlier, Praggnanandhaa defeated compatriot Arjun Erigaisi 5-4 in a sudden death tie-break to advance to Thursday’s semifinals. Praggnanandhaa, 17, has already qualified for next year’s Candidates event. Praggnanandhaa made history by reaching the FIDE World Cup final; his coach, RB Ramesh, expressed immense pride in Praggnanandhaa’s exceptional performance in the global tournament and expressed optimism about Praggnanandhaa’s chances in the final.