The five-time World Chess Champion and the highest-rated player of all time GM Magnus Carlsen defeated chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa R in the finals of the FIDE World Cup 2023 to clinch the title for the first time.
Incredible Indians:
FIDE World Cup 2023 was very successful for the Indians as four players other than Pragg made it to the quarter-finals. Vidit, Gukesh, and Arjun reached quarters in the open, and Harika in the women's section.
Records Alert!!!
As we already know, 17-year-old Gukesh achieved a historic milestone in the second round of the tournament as he dethroned his idol, mentor, and chess legend Vishy Anand from the India No. 1 spot in the classical chess format and captured the 9th place in the world chess rankings. Now, 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa became only the second player after Vishwanathan Anand to reach the finals of a FIDE World Cup and qualify for the candidates tournament.
Pragg's Journey:
Pragg had an incredible run before surrendering to arguably one of the GOATs of the sport Magnus Carlsen in the finals. He defeated world no. 2 Hikaru Nakamura in the 4th round, world no. 3 Fabiano in the semi-final, and strong players like Arjun, David Navara, and Maxime Lagarde. It is also important to note that he won many games with black pieces in the tournament. Here is his journey to the finals:
Round 2: Lagarde Maxime (2599) - Result: 1.5 - 0.5 (Won the first game with black pieces)
Round 3: Navara David (2689) - Result: 1.5 - 0.5 (Won the first game with white pieces)
Round 4: Nakamura Hikaru (2787) - Result: 3 - 1 (Two draws in regular games; Pragg won the next two games in 25 + 10sec time control)
Round 5: Berkes Ferenc (2615) - Result: 0.5 - 1.5 (Pragg won the second game with black pieces)
Round 6 (Quarters): Erigaisi Arjun (2710) - Result: 5 - 4
Pragg lost the first game with whites, then returned to win with black pieces. The first two games in the tiebreaks were draws. They traded blows in the next four games and finally, Pragg won the first game in the 3+2 blitz format to enter the semi-finals. These two friends were seen going out on walks together the evening before their match but played a marathon the next day! This shows their maturity and dedication at the same time.
Round 7 (Semis): Caruana Fabiano (2782) - Result: 3.5 - 2.5
The first 4 games ended in draws. Pragg won the first game of 10+10seconds time control games and drew the next to confirm his birth in the finals with Magnus Carlsen.
Round 8 (Final): Magnus Carlsen (2835) - Result: 1.5 - 2.5
The first two classical games ended in draws. Pragg lost the first rapid game with white pieces and agreed to a quick draw in the next to settle for the second position. In what appeared to be a draw, Carlsen displayed his experience and expertise, and forced Pragg into a time crunch, which led to the errors and resignation.
All the top four players said they were exhausted both mentally and physically as the tournament reached the fag end. The quest for the title started on 29.07.2023 and ended today i.e. 24.08.2023.
Carlsen takes home USD 110,000 in prize money, and Praggnanandhaa wins USD 80,000. Pragg will fly to Düsseldorf, Germany to play in the World Rapid Teams Championship which starts tomorrow.
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