Welcome to Sportstar highlights of day 1 of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 final, being played in Baku, Azerbaijan. India’s R. Praggnanandhaa drew with World No. 1 Norway’s Magnus Carlsen in the first round of the classical match.
PRAGG vs CARLSEN FINAL ROUND 2 LIVE UPDATES
FOLLOW LIVE | PRAGGNANANDHAA VS MAGNUS CARLSEN CHESS WORLD CUP FINAL TIEBREAKS
PRAGGNANANDHAA vs CARLSEN MOVE-BY-MOVE INTERACTIVE
- Board Courtesy - Lichess.org
In the midst of a major time crunch, Pragg was able to hold Carlsen for a draw in an objectively equal position with white pieces. The 18-year-old played solid and agreed to a draw on move 35. Both kings were safe behind three pawns, where a rook and a knight would not usually yield a result.
The final moments
PRAGG vs CARLSEN FINAL ROUND 1 MATCH REPORT
FIDE-World Cup Final: Praggnanandhaa-Carlsen round 1 ends in draw
Points shared in first round of final!
Praggnanandhaa drew against Carlsen with white peices.
Praggnanandhaa still needs to make 10 moves before getting the 30 minutes added time after move 40.
Praggnanandhaa has a passer on A-file, while Carlsen has more space and activity on the board. The Norwegian also has a time advantage, which puts Pragg under some pressure.
Dark horse, living upto his title!
Abasov forces Caruana to resign after the American made a huge blunder on the 23rd move, and it was way too much to handle for the third-highest-rated player in classical chess.
Big blunder from Fabiano Caruana as his queen to b4 is giving an instant winning edge to Niajt Abasov.
Praggnanandhaa offered a queen exchange, which Magnus accepted, and after Qxd8, and Rfxd8, they went on to trade the light-squared bishops as well leaving with a doubled rook and knight endgame.
Role reversal!
Magnus has put pressure on Pragg with accurate moves and it is the Indian prodigy who has to think deeply before his moves. From a 20-minute time advantage, Pragg is now 10 minutes behind against Carlsen on the clock.
Praggnanandhaa trades dark-squared bishop and now both players have a light-squared bishop along with one knight each. Pragg took 17 minutes for this move.
28 minutes worth it?
Carlsen’s bishop-to-b8 move cost him over 27 minutes as he went from 1:11:33 to 44:10. Did Praggnanandhaa catch him off-guard with this line. However, Carlsen makes the best move according to the engines.
After castling from both sides, Pragg, with the white piece has a very small initiative, but it is too early to commit as both players will have to grind it out in the middle game after finishing their developments.
Talent recognises talent!
What’s Fianchetto?
Fianchetto is an Italian word which refers to a bishop’s development on the long diagonal.
Searching glory
Present with future!
Magnus Carlsen congratulating Praggnanandhaa after beating Hikaru Nakamura in the round 4 tiebreaks. | Photo Credit: FIDE/X
Magnus Carlsen taking his time for his ninth move. | Photo Credit: FIDE Chess/YouTube
After Praggnanandhaa’s queen to a4 move, Magnus took over 11 minutes to trade his knight on f3, which shows the 18-year-old is still in his preparation and has put the world no. 1 in some deep thinking.
King’s English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line
Black develops their knight as well with Nf6. Black either intends d5, a thematic move to open both the centre and some lines for the light-squared bishop and queen, or some development of the dark-squared bishop.
PRAGGNANANDHAA ROAD TO FINAL
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Beat Lagarde Maxime 1.5-0.5
Round 3: Beat David Navara 1.5-0.5
Round 4: Beat Hikaru Nakamura 3-1
Round 5: Beat Ferenc Berkes 1.5-0.5
Round 6: Beat Arjun Erigaisi 5-4
Round 7: Beat Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total matches 19 | Carlsen won: 8 | Praggnanandhaa won: 5 | Draw 6
MATCH FORMAT
Two traditional Chess games with classical time controls will be played over two days. Both players will be given 90 minutes each for the initial 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes added after that, with a 30-second increment per move starting from Move 1.
LIVE STREAMING INFO
When to watch Praggnanandhaa vs. Carlsen FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 final?
The Praggnanandhaa vs. Carlsen FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 final will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Where to watch Praggnanandhaa vs. Carlsen FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 final?
The Praggnanandhaa vs. Carlsen FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 final will be streaming live on FIDE Chess YouTube and Twitch channels.
THE ULTIMATE CLASH
Praggnanandhaa vs Fabiano Caruana Semifinal Report
Continuing his dream run, R. Praggnanandhaa took World No 3 Fabiano Caruana out of his comfort zone, and pulled him into shorter time-control games and nailed him to challenge favourite Magnus Carlsen in the final of the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Praggnanandhaa, who turned 18 during the World Cup and knocked out second seed Hikaru Nakamura on the way, now becomes the third youngest to qualify for the Candidates Tournament after Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen. He is also the first Indian to reach the World Cup final since the knockout format was introduced in 2005.
It may be recalled that Viswanathan Anand’s titles came in 2000 and 2002 came in a 24-player league-cum-knockout format.
After Praggnanandhaa and Caruana played out four draws in three days, the decisive difference came in the first 10-minute rapid game. Praggnanandhaa, playing white, had an extra pawn by the 21st move but Caruana had compensation. The twist to the tale followed when Praggnanandhaa gained a second pawn and swiftly moved his king to the queen’s side and added to Caruana’s worries.
CHECK OUT THE FULL REPORT HERE - READ
- Rakesh Rao
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