Indian chess sensation R Praggnanandhaa will square off against seasoned Norwegian star Magnus Carlsen in the final of the FIDE Chess World Cup in Baku on Thursday. The opening two games of the summit clash have resulted in a draw and it has thus forced this all-important title-deciding match into the tie-breakers. The first couple of rounds have lasted for 35 and 30 moves respectively.
Carlsen has been troubled by a stomach bug since before the match started and several observers have suggested that he has thus been trying to take the game to the tie-breakers since the offset, in order to bide as much time as possible to recover. Praggnanandhaa has been in an imperious run of form lately, beating World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana in the semi-final and becoming the first Indian in over two decades to enter the last-four of the Chess World Cup. He has even made it to the Candidates 2024 tournament that will take place in Canada next year.
What happened on Day 2?
It was a riveting dual on Day 2 with both players having sacrificed their rooks by the end of the action. The two finalists have given up on their queens as well, as it took them a little more than an hour to wrap up the day's play. Carlsen played with whites on Wednesday and a tie-breaker is widely perceived as Praggnanandhaa's best chance to oust the five-time world champion Norwegian.
Also Read: R Praggnanandhaa: On the cusp of history, chess prodigy aims for the sky in the World Cup
What to expect on Day 3?
The two classical games have not thrown a given a winner yet and hence two tie-breakers will be played in a rapid format on the third day of contest. The rapid fire will begin at 4:30 pm IST. Both Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa will get 25 minutes each in the face-off.
They will also receive increments of 10 seconds per move. The final will then progress to two games with a time control of five minutes for both players if a winner does not come up until the preceding round. In this segment, both players will obtain an increment of three seconds per move, starting from the opening round onwards.
Head-to-Head
Played – 19
Drawn – 6
Carlsen – 8
Praggnanandhaa – 5
What do the players say?
Praggnanandhaa kept it simple after the second game on Wednesday. He denied suggestions that was under any kind of trouble and vowed to come back stronger on the third day of the contest. “I don't think I was in any trouble at all. Yeah, it'll be a fight. I'll surely push very hard. I'll just try to rest today and come back fresh tomorrow. That's the best I can do,” he mentioned after the match.
On the other hand, Carlsen explained that his food poisoning means that he has not eaten anything in the last two days. Thus, he explained that he had no energy to be nervous on Day 2. “Normally, I would just probably have a bit of an advantage having a rest day while he had to play a tough tiebreak yesterday, but I've been in a pretty rough shape the last couple of days. I got some poisoning after the game against Abasov. I haven't been able to eat for the last two days. This also meant that I was really calm cause I had no energy to be nervous,” Carlsen quipped.
Where to Watch?
As aforementioned, the tie-breakers will begin at 4:30 pm IST, August 24, Thursday. It will be live streamed on the FIDE Chess and the ChessBase India channels on YouTube.
First Published: Aug 24, 2023 7:36 AM IST
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
BJP is planning to ban RSS, says Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray
May 18, 2024 8:01 PM
Punjab Lok Sabha elections: Complete list of Congress candidates
May 18, 2024 4:08 PM
Punjab Lok Sabha elections: Check full list of AAP candidates and constituencies
May 18, 2024 12:59 PM
PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi election rallies in Delhi today: Here are the routes to avoid
May 18, 2024 11:28 AM