World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen won the FIDE World Cup final by beating his 18-year-old opponent R Praggnanandhaa on Thursday. The World No. 1 won Game 1 of the tiebreaker earlier in the day.
FIDE World Cup winner Magnus Carlsen.
? by Stev Bonhage pic.twitter.com/cuchTz2AqU
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 24, 2023
In the second game of the tiebreaker, the Norwegian pulled off a draw with white pieces to seal the title. The two players had played out one draw each on Tuesday and Wednesday. Carlsen will take home $1,10,000, while Pragg will take home $80,000.
? Magnus Carlsen is the winner of the 2023 FIDE World Cup! ?
Magnus prevails against Praggnanandhaa in a thrilling tiebreak and adds one more prestigious trophy to his collection! Congratulations! ?
? Stev Bonhage #FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/sUjBdgAb7a
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 24, 2023
The tie-breaker was divided into three stages, with the first two rapid games fetching each player 25 minutes, with a 10-second increment per move.
Praggnanandhaa is the runner-up of the 2023 FIDE World Cup! ?
Congratulations to the 18-year-old Indian prodigy on an impressive tournament! ?
On his way to the final, Praggnanandhaa beat, among others, world #2 Hikaru Nakamura and #3 Fabiano Caruana! By winning the silver… pic.twitter.com/zJh9wQv5pS— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 24, 2023
International Chess Federation (FIDE) tweeted: “Praggnanandhaa is the runner-up of the 2023 FIDE World Cup! Congratulations to the 18-year-old Indian prodigy on an impressive tournament! On his way to the final, Praggnanandhaa beat, among others, world #2 Hikaru Nakamura and #3 Fabiano Caruana! By winning the silver medal, Praggnanandhaa also secured a ticket to the FIDE Candidates.”
Praggnanandhaa was the first runner-up. On his way to the final, Pragg ended the campaigns of World No 2 Hikaru Nakamura and World No 3 Fabiano Caruana via the tie-breaks. Pragg, who celebrated his 18th birthday during the World Cup, became the youngest player to reach the chess World Cup final.
Fabiano Caruana, whom Praggnanandhaa had stunned in the semi-final, has beaten Nijat Abasov and has taken third place.
World Cup 2023 – Top 4
- Winner – Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
- Runner Up – R. Praggnanadhaa (India)
- Third position – Fabiano Caruana (USA)
- Fourth Position – Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan)