‘Final khelna bhi badi baat itne kam age mai’ – Fans react as 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa loses to world number 1 Magnus Carlsen in Chess World Cup final 2023
Ramesh Praggnanandhaa became the youngest finalist in Chess World Cup.
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Aug 24, 2023 8:09 pm
Ramesh Praggnanandhaa (source: Twitter)
The Indian chess sensation Ramesh Praggnanandhaa lost to the world’s number one chess player Magnus Carlsen in the final of the Chess World Cup 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 18-year-old had earlier become the youngest player to enter the final of a Chess World Cup, which is a great feat indeed. It was never going to be easy for the youngster against a world-class player like Carlsen.
In the first two rounds of the match, Praggnanandhaa had managed to claim draws against the World Number 1. Till this point, the Indian player had already impressed everyone with his play. But the tiebreaker round turned out a bit too difficult for the Indian sensation as the Norwegian brought his A-game to the match and destroyed the youngster as he usually does with any player.
In the rapid chess format tiebreaker, Carlsen won the first game. As the second game ended in a tie, Carlsen was declared the winner. Praggnanandhaa can be proud of his achievement in the tournament. On his way to the final, the 18-year-old defeated the world number 2 Hikaru Nakamura in the prelims and the world number 3 Fabiano Caruana in the semifinals.
Indian players shine in the tournament
On the first day of the final, the two players played out a draw after playing 35 moves each. On the second day, the two players again had a draw after playing 30 moves each. The tiebreaker in the decider was played in rapid chess format, in which, players have 25 minutes and an incrementation of 10 seconds per move. Apart from Praggnanandhaa, other Indian players also performed well in the tournament.
The likes of D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi also entered the quarterfinals of the tournament, along with Praggnanandhaa. In a tournament of 250 players, it is an incredible achievement. Gujrathi defeated the world number 5 Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in his campaign. The fans are heartfully congratulating the achievement of the Indian players in the tournament, especially Praggnanandhaa, who has a bright future ahead of him.
