Praggnanandhaa falls in final hurdle

Baku, Aug 24: Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa could not pull off a repeat of his giant-killing acts of the last few days as fancied Magnus Carlsen beat him 1.5-0.5 in the tie-break to win the FIDE World Cup here on Thursday.
Praggnanandhaa’s dream run in the tournament ended at the hands of the world No. 1 after the classical games ended in a stalemate and required a tie-breaker to identify the winner.
For the five-time World Championship winner and Norwegian superstar Carlsen, who has been at the top of the sport for over a decade now, this was his first-ever World Cup title.
The second 25+10 tie-break game ended in a draw in 22 moves as Carlsen played it safe after he had won the first one in Rapid, displaying his superior end-game skills.
After a keenly contested first game, the second game was a rather tame affair with Praggnanandhaa falling behind quickly and agreeing to a draw, which meant that Blitz was not required.
The two classical games on Tuesday and Wednesday had ended in draws, stretching the final into a tie-break.
Carlsen, who had been under the weather due to food poisoning and did not look at his best in the first classical game, showed why he is so tough to get past with his remarkable comeback in the tie-break.
He overcame a stiff challenge from his 18-year-old Indian opponent in the first tie-break game, winning it in 45 moves. Carlsen then saw off the problems he encountered due to Praggnanandhaa’s enterprising play in the middle to turn the tables on the Indian and seize the advantage.
Carlsen won game 1 in 45 moves and made full use of the advantage of playing with white pieces in the second game. (PTI)