'Chess is in good hands for future': Magnus Carlsen reacts after win over Praggnanandhaa

Magnus Carlsen finally ended his long wait as he defeated R Praggnanandhaa in the much anticipated Chess World Cup final in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Norwegian prevailed in a nailbiting encounter as the 32-year-old got the better of the young Indian Grand Master in a tiebreaker. Both Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen have now qualified for the Candidates event. 

3 things you need to know

• Magnus Carlsen defeated R Praggnanandhaa in the Chess World Cup final
• This is Magnus Carlsen's first-ever Chess World Cup title
• This was also R Praggnanandhaa's maiden appearance in the Chess World Cup final

Also Read: 'We are very proud': Praggnanandhaa's sister Vaishali reacts to Pragg's historic display

Magnus Carlsen prevailed over R Praggnanandhaa in Chess World Cup final

Carlsen had a tough time against Praggnanandhaa as the youngster forced the reigning number one player into a tiebreak. Praggnanandhaa couldn't keep up his nerves in the first game and lost it. Carlsen was cautious in the following game and a draw was enough for him to lift his maiden Chess World Cup title. After the completion of the final, Carlsen heaped praises on the 18-year-old.

Magnus Carlsen rates R Praggnanandhaa highly

In an interaction with Chess24 he said, "Chess is in good hands for the future! I think this generation of players born 1990-94 really have dominated for a long time & finally now with these youngsters born 2003+ we have a generation that's worthy of succeeding us when the time comes & the time could be fairly soon!"

Also Read: 'Feels amazing': Praggnanandhaa's first reaction after Chess WC as Tendulkar messages him

He further added, “They are all very good, Gukesh is clearly the strongest classical player right now. And then, you have Pragg and (Nodirbek) Abdusattorov who are strong but also mentality monsters. And then, I think on a tier slightly below, we have Vincent and a few others. But what I think is pretty clear is that chess is in good hands for the future. The generation of players, born from 1990-1994 really have dominated for a long time, and finally now, with these youngsters born in 2003 and after, we have a generation that's worthy of succeeding us.”