FIDE World Cup: Praggnanandhaa's journey to the final included victories over world number 3 Hikaru Nakamura (2-0 in tiebreaks) and world number 2 Fabiano Caruana (2.5-1.5 in tiebreaks). The final tiebreaker promises to be intriguing, particularly as it will be played in a shorter format.

The 18-year-old Indian chess prodigy, R Praggnanandhaa, is set to compete in a tie-breaker against reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen that will determine the winner of the FIDE World Cup final in Baku, Azerbaijan, on August 24. The second game of the FIDE World Cup Finals concluded in a draw on August 23.

In the second game, Magnus Carlsen played to a solid draw with the White pieces against Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. Meanwhile, Pragg faced no difficulties with the Black pieces, resulting in a draw after 30 moves in an equal Bishop ending. This second final game was also the quickest of the World Cup so far, with World No. 1 Carlsen entering the match feeling unwell.

Praggnanandhaa's journey to the final included victories over world number 3 Hikaru Nakamura (2-0 in tiebreaks) and world number 2 Fabiano Caruana (2.5-1.5 in tiebreaks). The final tiebreaker promises to be intriguing, particularly as it will be played in a shorter format.

How Does A Tiebreaker Work?

The tiebreakers will consist of rapid and blitz formats. It will commence with the rapid format, comprising two games, with both players having 25 minutes of time control and a 10-second increment per move from move 1.

If these games do not produce a winner, two more games with a time control of 10 minutes for each player will follow, with the same 10-second increment per move from move 1.

Should the contest still remain undecided, two more games will be played, but the time control will be reduced to 5 minutes per player, with a 3-second increment per move from move 1.

What If Tiebreaker Doesn't Bring A Result?

If the result is still undecided, the blitz portion of the tiebreak will come into play, involving a single game with a time control of 3 minutes per player and a 2-second increment per move from move 1. This will continue until a winner emerges.

Notably, Carlsen is renowned for his prowess in rapid and blitz chess, having won the World Rapid Championship four times and the World Blitz Championship six times.

Carlsen Vs Praggnanandhaa

Regarding the match between Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa, Praggnanandhaa has previously faced Carlsen and achieved notable success, defeating the five-time world champion three times in the past six months. 

Praggnanandhaa's victory in February 2022 at the Airthings Masters, an online rapid chess tournament, made him the youngest person to defeat Carlsen since he became world champion in 2013. Their most recent encounter was at the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament on May 20.

Additionally, Fabiano Caruana of the USA secured third place with an impressive performance, defeating GM Nijat Abasov. Notably, Praggnanandhaa has also qualified for the Candidates 2024 tournament, becoming the third youngest player after Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to achieve this distinction.