Draw, the word that makes sports fans groan in disappointment. But that was the verdict at the end of Game 1 of the FIDE World Cup final between India’s Praggnanandhaa and World No 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway in Baku, Azerbaijan. And it has to be accepted.
So, the battle watched by millions of chess nerds has now spilled over to Wednesday’s Game Two.
And what if Wednesday too doesn’t produce a result? Two tie-break games in rapid format will be played on Thursday with a time control of 25 minutes for each player + 10 seconds increment per move, starting from move 1.
The first two games are as per the classical format. The time control for each game is: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.
On Tuesday, 18-year-old Pragg played with white pieces, and was ahead on time in the beginning. But he could not capitalize on the chances. Later, he too came under time trouble.
In the semifinals, Praggnanandhaa had upset World No 3 Fabiano Caruana via the tie-break, much to the delight of Indian chess fans. In the process, he became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.
"It feels really good to qualify for the Candidates; I really wanted to fix this spot," Pragg said.
About reaching the final, he said, "I didn't expect to play Magnus in this tournament at all because the only way I could play him was in the final, and I didn't expect to be in the final. I will just try to give my best and see how it goes.”
Growing up in Chennai, Praggnanandhaa took up chess watching his elder sister Vaishali play. Today he is the present and future of Indian chess.
