Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa secured a draw against World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in the first classical game of the final of the FIDE World Cup Chess in Baku, Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
The 18-year old GM held his own against a fancied and higher-rated opponent and forced a stalemate in 35 moves playing white pieces. In the middle of a major time crunch, Praggnanandhaa was able to hold Carlsen for a draw in an objectively equal position with white pieces. The Indian played a solid game and agreed to a draw on move 35.
“I don’t think I was in any trouble at all," Praggnanandhaa said after the game.
Praggnanandhaa said later in an interaction posted on the ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) handle of FIDE: “Rb8, I felt I should have done something there. But maybe this position is just solid and I don’t have anything. What I played there was not the best try but I could not find anything."
The game 2 of FIDE World Cup 2023 final between R Praggnanandhaa and Magnus Carlsen will take place on August 23 from 4:15 PM onwards.
In case of a tie, the match will head into a tie-breaker, which will be played on August 24.
When asked about the second game, Magnus Carlsen said, “It’ll be a fight. He’ll definitely push very hard. I’ll try to rest and come fresh, I think that’s the best I can do."
Where to watch R Praggnanandhaa vs Magnus Carlsen Chess FIDE World Cup 2023 final on TV in India?
The FIDE World Cup 2023 final between R Praggnanandhaa and Magnus Carlsen will not be televised in India.
Where to watch Chess FIDE World Cup 2023 final R Praggnanandhaa vs Magnus Carlsen live streaming in India?
The FIDE World Cup 2023 final live streaming is available on the FIDE Chess YouTube channel as well as on the ChessBase India YouTube channel India.
Praggnanandhaa had earlier stormed into the final by shocking world No.3 Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5.
The Indian teenager became only the second player from the country to reach the final of the world cup after the legendary Viswanathan Anand and qualified for the Candidates tournament in 2024.
(With inputs from Agencies)