E-Paper
Chess World Cup prize money: Praggnanandhaa takes home staggering sum of INR 66 lakh after epic battle with Carlsen
Writing a glorious chapter in Indian chess history, Praggnanandhaa contested the Chess World Cup final against World No.1 Magnus Carlsen.
Rewriting history at the grandest stage of them all in world chess, India's Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa played out an epic final against Magnus Carlsen in the recently concluded edition of the FIDE World Cup 2023 on Thursday. Praggnanandhaa, who upstaged the likes of World No.3 Fabiano Caruana and World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, has finished runner-up in the celebrated tournament. Writing a glorious chapter in Indian chess history, Praggnanandhaa was eventually defeated by Carlsen 1.5-0.5 in the tie-break as the Indian Grandmaster secured the second spot in the World Cup final.
The Indian Grandmaster has sealed his spot for the Candidates 2024 tournament after the 18-year-old put up a show in the FIDE World Cup in Baku. Praggnanandhaa is the second Indian player after legendary Viswanathan Anand to seal a spot in the Candidates. He is the third youngest player after legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament. For finishing second in the FIDE World Cup 2023, Praggnanandhaa has earned a whopping sum of USD 80,000 (approximately ₹66,13,444). Norway's Carlsen is taking home USD 110K (approximately ₹90,93,551) for winning the World Cup title in Baku.
Praggnanandhaa's glorious run in FIDE World Cup 2023
Praggnanandhaa received a bye in the first round of the Chess World Cup in Baku. The Indian Grandmaster defeated French Grandmaster Maxime Lagarde 1.5-0.5 in the second round before registering a win over Czech GM David Navara 1.5-0.5 in the next phase. Praggnanandhaa then played against World No.2 Nakamura in the fourth round. A 3-1 win over Nakamura paved the way for Praggnanandhaa to enter the 5th round of the World Cup.
Getting the better of Hungarian Ferenc Berkes 1.5-0.5 in the fifth round, Praggnanandhaa earned a come-from-behind win over Arjun Erigaisi in the virtual quarter-final. The Indian superstar then became the youngest player to reach the final clash of the World Cup with a thrilling 3.5-2.5 win over Caruana in the semi-final.
However, Praggnanandhaa's glorious run in the World Cup was ended by Carlsen in the tie-break of the final. While the classical games ended in a stalemate, Carlsen won the first tie-break game before he opted to close the second in a draw to lift the World Cup title for the first time. The World No. 1 has won the World Championship five times in his trophy-laden career.
