Praggnanandhaa Creates History
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
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By Slogger
First publised on 2023-08-22 03:12:48
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Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
View all posts by this Author
R Praggnanandhaa, at 18, became the youngest ever to reach the title round of the FIDE World Cup. The Indian prodigy beat world number 2 Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5 in the tie-break in the semifinal. He will meet world number one Magnus Carlsen in the finals. Before him, only one Indian, Vishwanathan Anand has reached so far. Praggnanandhaa also booked a place in the Candidates tournament in 2024.
Praggnanandhaa, Prag to all chess lovers, has shown why he is considered to be the best thing that has happened to Indian chess in a long time. En route to the finals, he felled world number three Hikaru Nakamura in the round of 32 and then Caruana in the semifinals. Although Carlsen has beaten him 8 times in 19 games, with Prag winning 5 and 6 draws, a World Cup final is different. With Prag showing brilliant temperament and having a solid defence, the final is going to be an exhilarating game which will test the skill and temperament of both players.
Prag is an excellent exponent of rapid and blitz chess. He has a solid defence but lacks an opening repertoire. But since Carlsen is not at his best in the tournament and is giving chances to his opponents and Prag is playing superbly, although the match will be evenly poised, Prag will have his chances. It cannot be denied that Carlsen is a big match player and Prag has reached his first final but it seems that Prag's time has come. If he keeps his cool and can grab the chances Carlsen offers, it might be possible that we will see an Indian world champion onTuesday, the youngest at that.
