All eyes for the next 48 hours or more will be on Baku in Azerbaijan as India's Rameshbabu Pragganandhaa looks to clinch his maiden Chess World Cup title, taking on World No.1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the final.
Coached by Grandmaster Ramesh RB, it has been a dream run for the 18-year-old from Chennai who defeated the third highest-rated chess player in history- Italy's Fabio Caruaana- in Round 7 on Monday and is now one step away from winning the World Cup crown. The win helped Praggnanandhaa book a spot in the Candidates tournament, which will take place in Canada in 2024.
Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen have faced each other on 19 occasions, so far. 12 of those contests have happened in Rapid/exhibition chess with the Norwegian leading 7-5.
Six of those contests have ended in a draw. The two have squared off in classical chess once and that contest, too, ended in a draw.
"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," Praggnanandhaa said after entering the final.
In 2022, he defeated Carlsen three times over the course of the year- in February at the Airthings Masters, in May at the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament and in August at the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami.
Also read: India watches as Pragg takes on Magnus Carlsen for chess world title
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