 "FIDE Chess World Cup R Praggnanandhaa plays out draw against Magnus Carslen in first game of final")
Baku: Indian GM R Praggnanandhaa held his own against World No.1 Magnus Carlsen to secure a draw in the first classical game of the final of the FIDE World Cup chess tournament here on Tuesday. The 18-year old Indian GM was impressive against a fancied and higher rated opponent and forced a stalemate in 35 moves while playing white pieces.
Game 1 of the FIDE World Cup Finals ends in a draw
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) August 22, 2023
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa made a solid draw with the White pieces against World no. 1 Magnus Carlsen. It was a balanced game, where the players agreed to a draw in an equal Rook and Knight ending after 35 moves of play.
Photo:… pic.twitter.com/LFrdfC6VID
This means Carlsen will have the advantage of playing white in the second game of the two-match classical series on Wednesday. Praggnanandhaa had stormed into the final by shocking world No.3 Fabiano Caruana 3.5-2.5. The Indian teenager became only the second player from the country to reach the final of the World Cup after the legendary Viswanathan Anand and has already qualified for the Candidates tournament in 2024.
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