Norwegian Grand Master (GM) Magnus Carlsen became a first-time winner of the FIDE World Cup after defeating India's 18-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the final on August 24. Carlsen beat the Indian GM 1.5-0.5 in the tiebreaks.
Carlsen triumphed over the teenager after their two classical games ended in drab draws. Suffering from food poisoning over the last two days, Carlsen – the world's top-rated player – steered the classical games held on August 22 and August 23 into drawing positons, which meant the final went to tiebreaks on August 24, starting with the rapid format. And the five-time world champion didn't require more than two rapid games to vanquish his young rival and win the lone major chess title that has eluded him - as well as a cool $110,000.
Praggnanandhaa, who stormed to the finals of the World Cup after beating two of the top three rated players in the world – American GMs Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura – will pocket $80,000 for his troubles. More importantly, Praggnanandhaa – popularly called Pragg – has secured a ticket to the 2024 Candidates Tournament that will take place in Toronto, Canada in April next year.
Carlsen won the first tie-break game in the 25+10 format with black, which meant Pragg had to win 'on demand' with black in the second game. Even though Pragg has defeated Carlsen multiple times over the last couple of years in online games, the Norwegian – the highest-rated player of all time – is a different beast when it comes to over-the-board chess.
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In the second tie-break rapid game, Carlsen and Pragg agreed to a draw, making the world number 1 a first-time World Cup winner. According to GM Daniel Naroditsky, the draw was not for lack of effort from Pragg.
"The one thing you cannot criticise Pragg for in this tournament is lack of effort. He has put every ounce, every iota of energy on the chessboard. This event has lasted a month," Naroditsky said while commentating on the game for Chess24.
On his way to the final, Pragg had to battle deep into tiebreaks against multiple strong opponents, including the aforementioned Caruana and Nakamura. In the quarterfinals, he was up against compatriot Arjun Erigaisi, and it took nine games for the young Indian duo to be separated as Pragg took the match 5-4.
Speaking on his performance today, Pragg said, "I was just calm, I didn't feel anything, and I just wanted to give my best. I could have played better, but it's okay."
Expressing his gratitude towards Pragg, legendary chess player Viswanathan Anand said, "Praggnanandhaa has had a sensational performance. He became the first indian after me to quality for the final, to qualify for the Candidates and has broken the top 20 in the world. I think at the end of the tournament, fatigue got him, but he has a very bright future."
Carlsen, meanwhile, had a more serene path, although he did encounter a scare in the fourth round after young German GM Vincent Keymer beat him in the first classical game.
Taking to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, 13th world chess champion Garry Kasparov had earlier posted "Congrats to @rpragchess — and to his mother. As someone whose proud mama accompanied me to every event, it's a special kind of support! The Chennai Indian defeated two New York cowboys! He has been very tenacious in difficult positions".
Pragg's loss to Carlsen does little to take away from his achievement, particularly the fact that he has now become only the second Indian – after Anand – to qualify for the Candidates tournament. Anand, of course, is a five-time world champion. Pragg, however, has also become the third youngest player of all time to qualify for the Candidates after Carlsen and mythic American GM Bobby Fischer.
The 2024 Candidates Tournament will decide the challenger to reigning world champion Ding Liren of China. Also joining Pragg in the eight-player Candidates tournament will be GM Caruana, who finished third in the World Cup.
As per the rules, the top three players in the World Cup qualify for the Candidates tournament. But with Carlsen having decided not to defend his world championship title last year – which allowed China's Liren to sneak into the Candidates tournament by the edge of his teeth, win it, and then beat Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi to win the title – or even play in the 2024 Candidates, the path has opened up for Pragg, Caruana, and Azerbaijan's Nijat Abasov, who came fourth in the World Cup.
Praggnanandhaa's magnificent performance in the World Cup has pushed his 'live' ELO rating to 2727, which makes him the 20th ranked player in the world. Above him are only two Indians – Anand in 9th (2754) and the newly-crowned top Indian player, D Gukesh, who is eighth in the world with a rating of 2758.
Seventeen-year-old Gukesh overtook Anand during the World Cup, but will have to wait until FIDE publishes its monthly rating list in early September to be officially crowned as India's number one player.
Other Indians to be rated above 2700 – also known as Super Grand Masters – include Vidit Gujrathi (2716), Arjun Erigaisi (2712), and Pentala Harikrishna (2711).
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