R. Praggnanandhaa forced a 78 move draw against World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana in the first game of their semifinal clash in the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday.
Continuing his splendid run, R. Praggnanandhaa forced a psychologically-important draw with black pieces in 78 moves against World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana in the first game of their semifinal clash in the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday.
Much before Caruana and Praggnanandhaa ended their 78-move tester with only the kings on the board, Magnus Carlsen escaped some serious trouble after local hope Nijat Abasov overlooked a winning continuation on the 34th turn, Eventually, the top seed won in 43 moves to take a 1-0 lead.
Praggnanandhaa, despite playing with a pawn less after the 41st move, was equal to the challenge. Caruana tested Praggnanandhaa’s understanding of the position which was a theoretical draw. The young Indian played accurately when the players had a rook each but Caruana banking on his lone pawn. The exchange of rooks hastened the end with Caruana letting Praggnanandhaa take the last pawn, too.
