R Praggnanandhaa makes epic comeback to reach Chess WC final, to face Magnus Carlsen

R. Praggnanandhaa displayed his strong mettle as he outclassed Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5 in the Chess World Cup semifinal to reach the final of the tournament. The 18 year old forced the game to a tiebreak as he showed exemplary defensive antics against the world number 3. Praggnanandhaa will now face world number 1 Magnus Carlsen in the summit clash in Baku, Azerbaijan.

3 things you need to know

• Praggnanandhaa is the youngest player to feature in the final of the Chess World Cup
• The 18 year old got the better of his opponent in the 3rd game of the tiebreak
• The final will be played on Tuesday

🔥 Praggnanandhaa goes to the final of the #FIDEWorldCup!

The Indian prodigy managed to beat world #3 Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5 after tiebreaks and will battle it out against Magnus Carlsen for the title.

📷 Maria Emelianova pic.twitter.com/FDOjflp6jL

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 21, 2023

After Viswanathan Anand, he became the second Indian to reach the Chess World Cup Final. Anand had claimed the inaugural World Cup in 2000 and defended his title in 2002. Continuing his dream run, Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa on Monday stunned world No.3 Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5 via the tie-break in the semifinals to set up a summit clash with world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway at the FIDE World Cup chess tournament here. After the two-game classical series ended 1-1, the 18-year-old Indian prodigy outlasted the highly-rated American GM in a battle of wits in a nerve-wracking tie-breaker.

ALSO READ | The Moment India's Praggnanandhaa Stunned World No.3 To Reach Chess WC Final

In the final beginning on Tuesday, Praggnanandhaa will take on five-times title winner Carlsen, who beat Azerbaijan's Nijat Abasov 1.5-0.5 in his semifinal. Praggnanandhaa becomes the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.

"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!," he said after booking a spot in the summit clash.

"It feels really good to qualify for the Candidates; I really wanted to fix this spot." With the two 25'+10" games ending at 1-all, Praggnanandhaa prevailed in the first 10'+10" game against Caruana to get within a draw of setting up a final clash with world No.1 Carlsen.

ALSO READ | R Praggnanandhaa Draws Fabiano Caruana In First Game Of Semifinals

"Pragg goes through to the final! He beats Fabiano Caruana in the tiebreak and will face Magnus Carlsen now. What a performance!," chess legend Viswanathan Anand posted on social networking site 'X', formerly Twitter. In the first game of tie-break, the Indian GM withstood a lot of pressure from Caruana and held on for a draw in an exciting encounter. The second rapid game too saw a similar result, pushing the semifinals to the 10'+10' series. Praggnanandhaa has been in a rich vein of form in the World Cup and his biggest scalp before Caruana was another American Hikaru Nakamura, the world No.2 and second-seed, following which he stopped compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.

(With inputs from PTI)