The first game of the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) World Cup final between Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and Norway’s World Number one Magnus Carlsen ended in a draw after 35 moves on Tuesday. Both Grandmasters will continue their play where Magnus will have white pieces in the second classical game on Wednesday. After defeating World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana in tiebreaks, Praggnanandhaa reached the final to set up a clash with Carlsen. Each match comprises two traditional games employing a time control of 90 minutes for the initial 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes added after the 40 moves, and a supplementary 30-second increment starting from Move 1. If a tie occurs, a playoff occurs on the third day of the round. The tiebreak procedure involves two rapid games with a time control of 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move. If further resolution is required, two ‘slow blitz’ games with a time control of 10 minutes plus 10 seconds increment per move follow. The 18-year-old became the youngest Indian finalist after beating Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5 in a semi-final decided by a single tiebreak win. The last Indian to reach the final was Viswanathan Anand, who is a two-time World Cup winner in 2000 and 2002. Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa’s incredible run in the Chess World Cup has reminded the legendary Garry Kasparov of his time as the king of 64 squares. Impressed with the teen sensation’s win over world No.3 Fabiano Caruana here on Monday, the former world champion Kasparov took to X, formerly Twitter, to laud the 18-year-old’s feats and his mother’s efforts.”Congrats to @rpragchess — and to his mother. As someone whose proud mama accompanied me to every event, it’s a special kind of support! The Chennai Indian defeated two New York cowboys! He has been very tenacious in difficult positions,” Kasparov tweeted. The glint in R Nagalakshmi’s eyes and that disarming smile standing in a corner of a room while watching her son ace the battle of 64 squares has been one of the most photogenic moments of GM R Praggnanandhaa’s dream run during the ongoing World Cup Chess.
