Magnus Carlsen defeated R Praggnanandhaa in the final of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 on Thursday.
Indian chess sensation R Praggnanandhaa’s remarkable journey ended with a final defeat as he couldn’t replicate his series of stunning victories in recent days, falling to the favoured Magnus Carlsen by a score of 1.5-0.5 in the tie-breaker of the FIDE World Cup on Thursday. The prodigious Praggnanandhaa’s extraordinary run in the tournament came to an end against the world’s top-ranked player, who only needed the World Cup title to complete an envious trophy cabinet.
The Norwegian maestro Carlsen, who has maintained his reign at the pinnacle of chess for more than a decade, ‘completed’ chess, as he posted on his official X account, adding the World Cup title to his five World Championship titles.
In the final, the two classical games on Tuesday and Wednesday had ended in draws, stretching the final into a tie-break. Following the remarkable win, Carlsen sat with chess24 to talk about his tournament and the final. The Norwegian grandmaster stated that he didn’t face any player in their prime throughout the tournament but made a strong remark on Indian chess player Gukesh D, who was one of the opponents Carlsen defeated en route to the title.
The World No.1 player believes Gukesh is the “strongest” classical chess player at the moment. “It’s funny that I faced zero players in their prime. I played Chuky (Vasyl Ivanchuk) and then I played three youngsters. So, yeah, obviously they are very strong. I felt like I had my best day and game of the event against Gukesh on the first day. Otherwise, that match would’ve been extremely tough. As for the others, they are very strong. Vincent (Keymer) pushed me the hardest, he was one move away from eliminating me, and leaving everything else moot,” Carlsen said.