Chess World Cup Final 2023, Game 1: Praggnanandhaa-Magnus Carlsen Settle For Draw After 35 Moves

Chess World Cup Final 2023: Praggnanandhaa won against Magnus Carlsen in February last year at the Airthings Masters, but the Norwegian has a slight edge when it comes to overall head-to-head record.

R Praggnanandhaa vs Magnus Carlsen Highlights: Game 1 of Chess World Cup final between World no. 1 Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen of Norway and India's R Praggnanandhaa ends in a draw after 35 moves. Carlsen will play with white pieces in tomorrow's second classical game. The stars seem to be aligning for Praggnanandhaa, 18-year-old Chess prodigy, who has a solid chance of winning a title that eluded India's legendary Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. After playing the first of two classic matches on Tuesday (August 22), the second and final match between the chess geniuses will take place on Wednesday (August 23) as they chase their maiden World Cup title.

World's number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway has won almost everything apart from a World Cup title, while for Praggnanandhaa it is an opportunity to pull one of the biggest and shocking upsets in sporting history. Praggnanandhaa, facing Magnus Carlsen for the 20th time, defeated him in February last year at the Airthings Masters, but the Norwegian has a slight edge when it comes to overall head-to-head record.

Praggnanandhaa is the first Indian to reach Chess World Cup final since Viswanathan Anand, a two-time World Cup winner (2000 and 2002), in the last 21 years. 

The young Indian grandmaster on Monday (August 21) won against World no. 3 Fabiano Caruana of USA in the FIDE World Chess Cup semifinal, following a 1-1 tie in their two-game classics -- a win which helped him set up summit clash against Carlsen.

18-year-old Praggnanandhaa, born on August 10, 2005 in India's Chennai city, is now the third youngest to qualify for the Candidates tournament after Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen.

Players who finish in top three positions in FIDE World Chess Cup will qualify for 2023 Candidates event to determine who gets to challenge reigning world champion Liren of China.   

"I didn't expect to play Magnus in this tournament at all because the only way I could play him was in the final, and I didn't expect to be in the final. I will just try to give my best and see how it goes!," he said after booking a spot in the summit clash.

"It feels really good to qualify for the Candidates; I really wanted to fix this spot."