In the opening game of their semifinal matchup at the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, R. Praggnanandhaa defeated World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana in 78 moves.
In the first game of their semifinal matchup at the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana was driven to a psychologically significant draw by R. Praggnanandhaa using the black pieces after 78 moves.
Magnus Carlsen averted some major problems after local hope Nijat Abasov missed a winning continuation on the 34th turn, long before Caruana and Praggnanandhaa concluded their 78-move trial with only the kings on the board. The top seed eventually prevailed in 43 moves to take a 1-0 lead.
Despite having one pawn less after the 41st move, Praggnanandhaa was still up to the task. Praggnanandhaa’s comprehension of the theoretical draw situation was put to the test by Caruana. When each player held a rook, the young Indian played correctly while Caruana relied solely on his pawn.
The final pawn in the game
With Caruana allowing Praggnanandhaa to seize the final pawn, the game was over quickly thanks to the exchange of rooks. On Sunday, the players square off once more in the traditional time-control, with Praggnanandhaa using white pieces. Aleksandra Goryachkina, the second-seeded Russian, and Nurgyul Salimova, the second-seeded Bulgarian, drew in the women’s final after three repetitions of the position in 33 moves.
R. Praggnanandhaa defeated World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana in the opening game of their FIDE World Cup semifinal match by forcing a draw after 78 moves. Following a 52-move victory, Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk took the lead over China’s Tan Zhongyi for third place.
In a sudden death tie-break on Thursday, Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated fellow countryman Arjun Erigaisi 5-4 to advance to the semifinals of the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. His mother, Nagalakshmi, was overcome with emotions as the young man became the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to advance to the tournament’s quarterfinal round. Her mother’s face was covered in happy tears as her son made history.