Chess FIDE World Cup 2023: Praggnanandhaa, Magnus Carlsen settle for draw in second game

The title decider will be played on Thursday in multiple rounds.

R Praggnanandha holds Magnus Carlsen in the second classic game of the final of the ongoing FIDE World Cup 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Praggnanandha played with Black against a food-poison-suffering Magnus Carlsen. Earlier Praggnanandha was held by the World No. 1 in Game 1 of the final, and so the scoreline so far is 1-1 in the final.

Not at his best, Magnus Carlsen looked troubled by his physical condition and urgency to push the game to a draw. The Norwegian consistently looked to offer trades to the Indian prodigy, to keep the game as uneventful as possible.

However, Praggnanandhaa wanted to go for the win and did all he could, but the Norwegian showed his experience to hold off an eager Praggnanandhaa. With the two classic games over and the players yet to be separated by points, the focus now will shift to the tie-break rounds of Day 3.

Rapid chess rounds and blitz rounds will be paid until we have a final winner. The first two rapid rounds will be the longest games of the day, and the lengths of the game will keep on decreasing as and when the games are tied.

Assuming the two players keep playing draws, one can expect two sets of rapid rounds and a set of blitz rounds, at the very least, to be played on the day. All the tie-break rounds will happen on the final day, after which the closing ceremony will follow.

Both Praggnanandhaa and Magnus Carlsen have yet to win the FIDE World Cup title in their career. For India, Vishwanathan is a five-time champion and the only one to win the title. In fact, Praggnanandhaa scripted history when he beat USA’s Fabiano Caruana to become the only second Indian to qualify for the finals of the FIDE World Cup. He also is the youngest player ever to achieve the feat.

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