NEW DELHI: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa on Thursday lost to World no.1 Magnus Carlsen in the FIDE World Cup final in Baku but despite that the teenage prodigy scripted a golden chapter in Indian chess history, becoming the youngest player from the country and only the second to Viswanathan Anand, to compete in the final.
The 18-year-old unfortunately went down in the summit clash to Norwegian in the tie-breaks.
Here's a look at Praggnanandhaa 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.
(With inputs from PTI)
