The much-awaited final chess match of the FIDE World Cup commenced on Tuesday in Baku, Azerbaijan, pitting Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa against the reigning World No. 1, Magnus Carlsen of Norway.
Having secured victory over World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana of the USA in tiebreaks, Praggnanandhaa earned his place in the final showdown against Carlsen.
Praggnanandhaa is no stranger to facing the legendary Carlsen, having challenged the five-time world champion on multiple occasions. Impressively, he has emerged victorious against Carlsen thrice in the past six months.
The format of the matches in the FIDE World Cup includes two traditional games, with a time control of 90 minutes for the initial 40 moves. Following this, an additional 30 minutes are allotted after move 40, coupled with a 30-second increment commencing from the very first move.
In the event of a tie, a playoff is scheduled for the third day of the round. The tiebreak procedure involves two rapid games, with a time control of 25 minutes and a 10-second increment per move. If a resolution is not reached, the tiebreak continues with two ‘slow blitz’ games, featuring a time control of 10 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move.
18-year-old Praggnanandhaa’s remarkable journey to the final of the FIDE World Cup has etched his name in chess history. His coach, RB Ramesh, expressed immense pride in the young grandmaster’s outstanding performance on the global stage. Ramesh also conveyed his optimism about Praggnanandhaa’s prospects in the final clash against Carlsen.
Speaking to the news agency ANI, Ramesh said, “I am extremely proud that he has been doing phenomenally well in this World Cup and he qualified for the World Cup final. And what I hear is he is the youngest to do so. And also he is the only Indian to qualify for the final.”
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