Aug 22 – India’s 18-year-old Grandmaster (GM) R. Praggnanandhaa (ELO 2,707) advanced to the FIDE World Cup final on Monday after defeating American GM Fabiano Caruana (2,782) in the semifinal tie-break games in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The final score was 3.5-2.5 in favour of the teenager from Chennai. After losing the first two tie-break games, the Indian defeated Caruana in the third and drew the fourth.
After the players drew their first two classical games, the match moved to a tie-breaker. The first two games of the tie-breaker had finished in a tie. The third game was won by the young Indian.
In the final, Praggnanandhaa will face world No. 1 and former world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.
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After defeating the world Nos. 2 and 3 in the competition, would Praggnanandhaa be able to overcome the world No. 1? That is the subject being discussed in chess circles right now.
With this victory, Praggnanandhaa qualified for the Candidates Tournament, the winner of which will face Chinese GM Liren Ding, the reigning world champion.
The top three players in the World Cup qualify for the Candidates Tournament, according to the International Chess Federation’s (FIDE) criteria.
Giant slaying is nothing new for Praggnanandhaa in this competition. He had previously defeated many more higher-rated opponents, including US GM Hikaru Nakamura, the world’s second-highest-rated player.
Though former world champion GM Viswanathan Anand won the competition previously under a different format, India has never performed so well in the World Cup Open Category.
This time in Baku, four Indian GMs — Praggnanandhaa, D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi — advanced to the quarterfinals from a field of over 250 players.
Aside from Praggnanandhaa, the Indian side had one other gigantic slayer. Gujrathi had defeated world No. 5 GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2779) of Russia.
The other three Indian players, Gujrathi, Gukesh, and Erigaisi, still have a chance to become world champion.
“There are a couple of other tournaments in which Indian players can qualify for the Candidates Tournament.” In this tough event, the other three players advanced to the quarterfinals. As a result, they may still be eligible for the Candidates.
