FIDE World Cup 2023: Praggnanandhaa holds Caruana to draw in semis

BAKU (Azerbaijan), Aug 20: Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa held fancied American player Fabiano Caruana to a draw in the first game of the semifinals of the FIDE World Cup chess tournament on Saturday (August 20).

The 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa - who was playing with a white - waged a gritty battle against the American - playing with black pieces - to share the honours in 78 moves.

Advantage for Praggnanandhaa in second game with white pieces

Having drawn Saturday's encounter with black pieces, the Indian GM now has the advantage of playing with white on Sunday.

Just after he beat World No.2 Hikaru Nakamura in fourth round, Carlsen walked up to him and told him: "My chess club Offerspill, they have a camp right now for young talented players where Ramesh, Pragg's coach, is the main coach. One of my friends who attended it told me that Ramesh was always telling them 'be like Pragg, be like Pragg'. So, I told Pragg that we all want to be like him today."

Magnus Carlsen takes big step towards final by defeating Nijat Abasov

Meanwhile, world no.1 Magnus Carlsen took a big step towards the final by beating local favorite Nijat Abasov in game 1 of the two-game classical series."I didn't see the idea at all!" Magnus said after the match. "I thought the opening went really well for me, but at a certain point it was really hard to consolidate everything," said Carlsen.

"There were so many tactical shots everywhere and evidently I could not keep control... I'm just happy to have survived and got the win!

"I have to say today was just really, really nervy, so I didn't particularly enjoy the game, but I do enjoy the result, and if I don't lose tomorrow, if I get to the final, then I think some of the pressure will certainly be off."

Praggnanandhaa secures spot in Candidates event

By becoming only the second Indian after legendary Vishwanathan Anand to reach the semifinals of the World Cup, Praggnanandhaa booked a spot in the Candidates event in 2024 to determine the challenger to Ding Liren.