💝The suspense continues in the FIDE World Cup chess final in Baku, Azerbaijan. Game Two between India’s R Praggnanandhaa and World No 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway also ended in a draw.
ꩵIndian fans had hoped a victory in Wednesday's second game would coincide with the successful moon landing of Chandrayaan-3.
💝The contest will now be decided in a tiebreaker on Thursday.
The second game, where Pragg played with black pieces, lasted 30 moves over nearly 90 minutes. The two players agreed to a draw in an equal bishop ending.
❀On Thursday, two tie-break games in rapid format will be played with a time control of 25 minutes for each player + 10 seconds increment per move, starting from move 1.
♏The first two games were as per the classical format. The time control for each game is: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.
▨In the semifinals, Praggnanandhaa had upset World No 3 Fabiano Caruana via the tie-break, much to the delight of Indian chess fans. In the process, he became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.
🌠"It feels really good to qualify for the Candidates; I really wanted to fix this spot," Pragg said.
🎃About reaching the final, he said, "I didn't expect to play Magnus in this tournament at all because the only way I could play him was in the final, and I didn't expect to be in the final. I will just try to give my best and see how it goes.”
🌄Growing up in Chennai, Praggnanandhaa took up chess watching his elder sister Vaishali play. Today he is the present and future of Indian chess.
