In Chess, Magnus Carlsen of Norway beat India’s R. Praggnanandhaa in tie-breaks to win the title of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 at Baku in Azerbaijan.
Key points
- In the final, Carlsen won the World Cup after drawing the second tie-break against Praggnanandhaa. Final score was Carlsen 1.5 and Praggnanandhaa 0.5. While Carlsen got Gold, Praggnanandhaa bagged silver.
- Pragg, who turned 18 during the World Cup, was the youngest World Cup finalist ever, and is the youngest World Cup winner.
- Seeded 31, Pragg is also the lowest seed to make the final of the World Cup.
- Praggnanandhaa etched his name in the history books of Indian chess.
- He had become the first Indian after Viswanathan Anand to reach the final and was a victory away from joining the Indian legend at the top.
- The history of the FIDE World Cup with the format we know today dates back to 2005 when FIDE held a 128-player knockout tournament. The World Cup has happened every two years since then, with nine completed editions thus far.
- The World Cup is an eight-round knockout tournament featuring 206 players, where the 50 top-seeded players get a first-round bye and go directly to round two. All matches consist of two classical games. The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment starting on move one.
- The FIDE World Cup essentially falls in the third rung of chess tournaments below the World Chess Championships and the Candidates Tournament.
- The Candidates Tournament is an eight-player event that is held to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. It’s the second-best chess tournament and players have to qualify for the event, with no wild cards or invitations given. So far Praggnanandhaa is the only Indian to have qualified for the 2024 event.
