India’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa holds Magnus Carlsen to draw

BAKU: India’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa held World No.1 Magnus Carlsen to a second successive draw in their two-game final in the FIDE World Cup here on Wednesday, taking the summit clash into the tiebreaker. Praggnanandhaa, who had played out a draw with white pieces on Tuesday, held the Norwegian five-time World Champion in Classical Chess to another draw, this time with black pieces.

It was a quiet draw as Carlsen could not gain much advantage despite playing with white pieces. The final will now be decided on Thursday via rapid chess tiebreak games.

Though Carlsen, a four-time World Rapid Chess Champion, fancies his chances in the faster time controls, on Wednesday, he said Praggnanandhaa could not be taken lightly as he has played more tie-break games in this event.

"Praggnanandhaa has already played a lot of tiebreaks against very strong players...I know he is very strong. If I have some energy, if I have a good day, obviously I will have good chances," he told the official FIDE broadcaster after the game on Wednesday. IANS

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