Magnus Carlsen Beats Praggnanandhaa By A Tie-Breaker To Win The FIDE World Cup

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GM Carlsen has won Indian Grandmaster Remeshbabu Praggnanandhaa to win the FIDE World Cup title after three days of nerve-straining and brain heating bout at the FIDE World Championship event at Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Indian Grandmaster who has a lower rating that Magnus Carlsen had beaten him three times before, and have held Grand Master Carlsen to a draw in six games, losing eight.

Both players contested in the sixty-four squares for three days, with GM Praggnanandhaa losing with the white pieces in the first, and GM Carlsen losing as white in the second. This necessitated the speed chess tie-breaker whereby a winner could emerge, but the tie-breaker lingered through two games before GM Carlsen finally won.

Carlsen is the century’s first number one who has rejected the task of defending his Chess World Championship title, after saying that he could not find what to gain from the contest. Since FIDE could not suspend the contest till he was ready to do so, the world’s next in line to the throne was appointed in the person of Ian Nepomniachtchi. An act that put the later in the path of stronger Ding Liren, who has since claimed the title in a fair game.

The importance of this concluded FIDE World Cup Final spread the news of it like wild fire because of two things. Carlsen won an Indian GM Viswanathan Anand to win the World’s Number One title, and his rating has become phenomenal by being the best was ever recorded. There were also news that the teenager, GM Praggnanandhaa has beaten the chess master before.

Many wondered if Praggnanandhaa would restore what was taken from a fellow countryman, who was also from Chennai, his city. The teen is the youngest to make it to the FIDE World Cup Finals, and the youngest to ever beat Magnus Carlsen. Praggnanandhaa who turned eighteen just this month had beaten him for the first time at a younger age.

Speaking after his victory over the world’s number two, Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa disclosed he was surprised to be in the FIDE World Cup finals, meaning he did not expect to get through both Hikaru Nakamura, the number three, and Fabiano Caruana. After the game with Caruana ended in a tie-break victory, news of his exploits gained momentum, spreading in both Eastern and Western media platforms.

Why Carlsen Won Praggnanandhaa

During the second classic game  at this FIDE WCF where Carlsen played white, which ended in a draw, both commentators and analysts noticed that the eighteen years old lagged behind in the use of time compared to Carlsen. It was a great accomplishment for the younger man to achieve a draw in the game after Magnus Carlsen played off moves without giving them much thought.

Clearly, the younger Grand Master has a long way to go in the management of time, and has to learn more about certain positions that would naturally make him stop and analyze for too long. This is why he was no match to GM Carlsen at the constant playing of speed chess.

What Next Now?

Both are likely to meet next year at the World Chess Championship tournament if Carlsen, thought it is very unlikely, decides to defend his title. Many think he is afraid of losing the title, and that he prefers to enjoy the benefits of the prestige for a longer time. Given that both Ding Liren and Praggnanandhaa had beaten him before, this could be true.

This was another reason why this game at the FIDE finals held great value for both Magnus Carlsen and the chess world.

By eliminating respectable heavyweight champions who are like the knights or lords in the chess world, Praggnanandhaa, called Pragg by some social media users, is still on his way to becoming the world’s number one.