Indian teen chess prodigy, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa might have lost the final of the 2023 FIDE Chess World Cup to world number 1 Magnus Carlsen, but made his nation proud by becoming the youngest runner-up of the tournament.
The exemplary performance earned Praggnanandhaa a sum of $80,000 (approximately Rs 66,11,800), while Magnus took away $110K (approximately Rs 90,91,225) for claiming the title.
Praggnanandhaa suffered a defeat in the tie-breaks after the first two games resulted in a draw, taking the contest to the 25+10 rapid round. The first game was won by Magnus using black pieces, whilst second game resulted in a draw, giving the Norwegian grandmaster a lead and helping him win the final 2.5-1.5.
The Indian Grandmaster (GM) displayed sheer brilliance throughout the tournament as he defeated some of chess' more renowned names. Praggnanandhaa got the better of the current world number 3, Hikaru Nakamura in the fourth round of the tournament.
World number 2, Fabiano Caruana also succumbed to a loss against the 18-year-old from Chennai in the semi-final.
Barring winning the runner-up prize in Azerbaijan, Praggnanandhaa has also earned a spot at the Candidates Tournament 2024, becoming only the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to do so. He is also the third youngest player after Bobby Fischer and Carlsen, to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.
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