Praggnanandhaa shocks Caruana, becomes first Indian after Anand to reach FIDE World Cup final
In the semifinals of the FIDE World Cup chess competition on Monday, world No. 3 Fabiano Caruana was shocked by Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa 3.5-2.5 in the tie-break.
The 18-year-old Indian prodigy defeated the highly regarded American GM in a tense tie-breaker after the two-game classical series finished in a draw. The final will now feature Magnus Carlsen of Norway vs Praggnanandhaa. With this, he becomes only the second Indian, after Vishwanathan Anand to achieve the feat.
The latter had won the tournament in 2000 and 2002, but it was played in a different format. In fact, Anand was one of the first ones to tweet about the truly historic moment in Indian chess.
โPragg goes through to the final! He beats Fabiano Caruana in the tiebreak and will face Magnus Carlsen now. What a performance!,โ chess legend Viswanathan Anand posted on โXโ, previously called Twitter.
Pragg goes through to the final! He beats Fabiano Caruana in the tiebreak and will face Magnus Carlsen now.
โ Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) August 21, 2023
What a performance!@FIDE_chess #FIDEWorldCup2023