Indian grandmaster, R Praggnanandhaa managed to secure a spot in the final setting up a blockbuster finale against World number 1 Magnus Carlsen. Soon after the sem-final bout against USA’s Fabiano Caruana, Vishwanathan Anand posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) praising the match.
Anand, hailed the performance of Praggnanandhaa as he watched through the bout.
Praggnanandhaa will face off against Magnus Carlsen in order to become the second Indian champion whilst Magnus will look to win his first-ever Chess World Championship.
Magnus was only able to finish third which still remains his highest finish in the completion having done so twice in 2007 as well as 2021. This would be his first appearance as a finalist in the competition.
Magnus defeated Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov 1.5 – 0.5 in order to secure his spot in the final.
READ MORE: FIDE World Cup: Praggnanandhaa R Plays Out Thrilling Draw Against Fabiano Caruana in First Game of Semifinals – Apna TPO
Whilst the young grandmaster, Praggnanandhaa managed to secure a victory over the American, Caruana 3.5 – 2.5 in a closely fought contest. The match
Praggnanandhaa will be the youngest grandmaster to take part in the finals at just 18 years old and will be right to be confident in the finals having already defeated Magnus three times in other competitions.
He would also be the second Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to reach the grand finals. Something the latter has managed to do five times.
READ MORE: FIDE World Cup: Praggnanandhaa R Holds Fabiano Caruana to Another Draw as Fixture Heads to Tie-break, Magnus Carlsen Into Final – Apna TPO
The young grandmaster born in Chennai will aim for a win over the World Number One and look to achieve the feat his senior accomplished and will look to pull out all the stops against the number one ranked Magnus Carlsen.
What is more interesting is that Vishwanathan Anand had predicted the outcome and understood the shift in momentum earlier than most people. He predicted that Praggnanandhaa had taken the lead an hour earlier which was interesting to note.
Pragg has taken the lead! Now Caruana must win to stay in the match.@FIDE_chess #FIDEWorldCup2023— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) August 21, 2023
The entire nation of India will be behind Praggnanandhaa as he takes on Magnus Carlsen in what is to be an epic showdown of the young prodigy versus the older master. No one can predict what is going to happen in this clash of the Titans.
