After securing a quick draw against Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa in the second classical game of the final, an 'unwell' Magnus Carlsen played speed chess championship online on Wednesday night.
Chess24 tweeted the list of participants mentioning, "How is Magnus Carlsen preparing for his FIDE World Cup final tiebreaks? By playing in the Speed Chess Championship as a qualifier, even though he's already qualified."
Carlsen, playing with white pieces, opted for a quick draw against Praggnanandhaa in the second classical game on Wednesday, which took many by surprise.
Though low on energy, as he himself had said after playing a 30-move draw, Carlsen played an online tournament late in the night. This was a clear indication that the world No. 1 was aware of Praggnanandhaa's defensive strength and he planned to take the final to the tiebreak of shorter format.
While analyzing the game, former world champion Viswanathan Anand said, "Did not expect the opening. Is Magnus repeating his game 12 strategy of 2016 and aiming for a tiebreak? If so, Magnus has spent the day thinking of the tiebreak whilst Prag can only start to do so after the game."
