Chess World Cup 2023: R Praggnanandhaa reaches semi-final; books Candidates spot

The teenaged chess Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, on Thursday, defeated compatriot Arjun Erigaisi 5-4 in a thrilling tiebreak to enter the semi-finals of the ongoing 2023 FIDE Chess World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Praggnanandhaa, who turned 18 last Thursday, also became only the second Indian after former world champion Viswanathan Anand in 2002 to enter the final four stage of the Chess World Cup.

After the classical round of games ended in 1-1, with both Praggnanandhaa and Erigaisi winning with the black pieces, the tiebreak matches too followed similarly.

While the two 25-minute rapid tiebreak games ending in uneventful draws, the start of 10-minute games saw the tides shift in both directions.

Praggnanandhaa, who seemed to been in a difficult position with the black pieces, bounced back to win the first 10-minute game, leaving Erigaisi in a must-win situation.

The 19-year-old Warangal-lad managed to win on demand with the black pieces and forced the match into five-minute and three-second increment blitz tiebreaks.

While Praggnanandhaa once again took the lead by winning the first blitz game with black pieces, Erigaisi again struck back as the match entered the sudden death territory.

Even as the time-control was reduced to three-minute and two-second increment for the sudden death, Praggnanandhaa arrived at the board 30 seconds late.

But, the Chennai-native still...

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