Chess World Cup Final: Praggnanandhaa loses summit clash to Magnus Carlsen

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa wrote a golden chapter in Indian chess history by becoming only the second player from the country after Viswanathan Anand—and the youngest —to play in the FIDE World Cup final.

The 18-year-old Indian lost the summit clash to Norway’s world No.1 Magnus Carlsen.

Here is a look at his journey in the elite event:

R Praggnanandhaa’s road to World Cup final:

• Got a bye in first round.
• Defeated French Grandmaster Maxime Lagarde 1.5-0.5 in second round.
• Beat experienced Czech GM David Navara 1.5-0.5 in third round.
• Beat world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura of USA 3-1 in fourth round.
• Beat Hungarian Ferenc Berkes 1.5-0.5 in fifth round.
• Registered a come-from-behind 5-4 win over compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the sixth round.
• Beat Italian-American Grandmaster, Fabiano Caruana, ranked third in the world, 3.5-2.5 in the semifinal to become the youngest to reach the summit clash of the World Cup.
• Game 1 of Final on Tuesday ended in a draw after 35 moves.
• Game 2 between Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen also ended in a quick draw in just 30 moves.
• Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen returned on Thursday to play in the shorter time control games, with the Indian losing in the tie-break.