Chess: Magnus Carlsen beats Indian prodigy Praggnanandhaa to win FIDE World Cup

Aug 25: Top-ranked Magnus Carlsen of Norway has won the Chess World Cup by defeating India’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.

The 32-year-old Norwegian, who has been ranked the world’s top player for more than 12 years, defeated the 18-year-old Indian on Thursday in a final played over three days in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Carlsen won the first 25-minute rapid tiebreak game with the black pieces as Praggnanandhaa erred in the 42nd move. The teenager resigned five moves later and was left in a must-win position for the next game.

The Tamil Nadu lad, however, could not manage any incisive edge in the second game and eventually agreed to a 22-move draw, handing Carlsen his first-ever World Cup title.

“I could have done better in the tie-breaker,” Praggnanandhaa told FIDE after the match. “These are shorter time-control and Magnus is very good at it. After the first game, I could have given a better fight, But being in a must-win situation with black pieces against Magnus was difficult. But I am happy to qualify for the Candidates, that’s very important.”

The result of the final notwithstanding, the Indian flies back home from Baku $80,000 richer and a Candidates ticket in his pocket.

In his run to the final, Praggnanandhaa beat world number two Fabiano Caruana of the United States in the semifinal as well as world number three Hikaru Nakamura, also of the US, in an earlier round.

Praggnanandhaa became the youngest international master in history at age 10 in 2016 and was earmarked by local chess officials as a future champion.

Growing up with his sister Vaishali Rameshbabu, a local chess champion, Praggnanandhaa began playing the game at the age of three with encouragement from his parents.

He had earned the title of International Chess Federation master by age seven, the third highest title a chess player can achieve after the grandmaster and international master titles.

Praggnanandhaa is the runner-up of the 2023 FIDE World Cup! 🥈

Congratulations to the 18-year-old Indian prodigy on 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… pic.twitter.com/zJh9wQv5pS

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 24, 2023