Candidates challenge looms as Praggnanandhaa follows in Vishwanathan Anand's footsteps

Alexander Khalifman. Ruslan Ponomariov. Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Levon Aronian. Gata Kamsky. Peter Svidler. Teimour Radjabov. Jan Duda.

These players have either won the FIDE World Cup chess title or FIDE knockout World Championship title. But none of the players named above went on to win the World Matchplay title, considered as the Mount Everest of the 64-square sport where Garry Kasparov, Vishwanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen have built their own caves.

The Khalifmans and Dudas of this world have not reached even the Challenger status. But Boris Gelfand and Sergei Karjakin - who were also World Cup winners - became the challengers after winning this title. V Anand won the knockout title and then won the Matchplay crown. Kramnik did the reverse. He first became the matchplay champion and then won the knockout title too.

R Praggnanandhaa cannot take anything for granted, going by this historical variety on offer. He is just 18 and recently entered the Elo 2700 club. By his own admission, he needs to work a lot on his classical (standard time control) chess, especially the opening repertoire. And going by the thumbs up to his work ethic from his coach RB Ramesh, Prag seems to be in a good space.

On one hand, it is highly creditable to reach so far in the knockout format, where except world champion Ding Liren of China, almost all elite chess players participated. That was not the case earlier as the legends used to drop out of the knockout event. But round-robin formats and Open tournaments are where the champion materials are baked before they chase the big cherry.

The 14-round eight-player Candidates tournament in Canada next April, where Prag will play, will be played in the double round-robin format. The winner of that event will get a chance to dethrone Ding Liren.

When you attain a draw in a knockout format (with match score being equal), it doesn't pinch you. But it hurts you in Open and round-robin tournaments as other players in the same field march ahead and you have to catch up to finish on top. Candidates tournament don't have a provision of tiebreaks of short time controls till the last cycle. So, one has to prove superiority only in classical chess.

1/10:Praggnanandhaa falls in final hurdle as Carlsen wins World Cup

AFP

2/10:Praggnanandhaa falls short in finale

<p>Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa's dream run in the FIDE World Cup ended at the hands of world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen on Thursday in Baku. <br /></p>AFP

3/10:World no.1 triumphs

<p>Carlsen beat Praggnanandhaa 1.5-0.5 in the tie-break after the classical games ended in a stalemate.<br /></p>ANI

4/10:Carlsen took 1st tie-break, 2nd was a draw

<p>The second 25+10 tie-break game ended in a draw in 22 moves as the Norwegian legend played it safe after he had won the first, displaying his end-game skills.<br /></p>PTI

5/10:Maiden World Cup title

<p>It was Carlsen's first World Cup triumph, having won the World Championship five times.<br /></p>ANI

6/10:Praggnanandhaa's stiff challenge

<p>Carlsen overcame a stiff challenge from his 18-year-old Indian opponent in the first tie-break game, winning it in 45 moves. He overcame the problems he encountered due to Praggnanandhaa's enterprising play to turn the tables and seize the advantage.<br /></p>PTI

7/10:Classical games drawn

<p>The two classical games on Tuesday and Wednesday had ended in draws forcing the final to a tie-break.<br /></p>AFP

8/10:A sensational run

<p>Praggnanandhaa enjoyed an incredible run in the tournament, having beaten world No.2 Hikaru Nakamura and world No.3 Fabiano Caruana to set up a final date against Carlsen.<br /></p>PTI

9/10:Praggnanandhaa qualifies Candidates 2024

<p>The results in the ongoing tournament also helped Praggnanandhaa qualify for Candidates 2024 tournament, which will be held in Canada.<br /></p>PTI

10/10:Third Indian to qualify for Candidates chess

<p>Praggnanandhaa is the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.<br /></p>PTI

Praggnanandhaa falls in final hurdle as Carlsen wins World Cup

In those type of tournaments - which are more dominant on the classical circuit than the knockout ones - you have to prove more conclusively that you are better than all others put together. In the knockout, you can become champion without beating the best in the business if they get eliminated early on, which was the case with Carlsen where he didn't meet any of the top-8 players in this World Cup. In the Candidates, you have to meet them and beat some of them too.

1/10:A proud mother's emotions during chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa's biggest tests

2/10:Love in the eyes

<p>Praggnanandhaa's proud mother looks at her prodigious son during the 2023 FIDE Chess World Cup in Baku.</p>

3/10:Sending best wishes

<p>Indian Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa's loving mother Nagalakshmi, who accompanies him to all competitions, sending best wishes to her son during the World Cup.<br /></p>

4/10:On the edge of her seat

<p>Nagalakshmi, R Praggnanandhaa's mother, looks on nervously as her son plays a crucial match at the FIDE World Cup.<br /></p>

5/10:Keeping a close watch

<p>Praggnanandhaa's mother kept a close watch on her son, who became the third youngest player to qualify for the Candidates Tournament, during the FIDE World Cup in Baku.<br /></p>

6/10:All Set!

<p>Praggnanandhaa ahead of the summit clash against World No.1 Magnus Carlsen. 'Prag' drew the two classical games, before going down fighting in the tie-breaker.<br /></p>

7/10:The hand shake

<p>Praggnanandhaa shakes hands with Magnus Carlsen after drawing the two rounds of the summit clash, which took the final to the tie-break.<br /></p>

8/10:Fluctuating emotions

<p>Nagalakshmi, Praggnanandhaa's mother, shows two extreme emotions as she lends her support to the chess prodigy.<br /></p>

9/10:Message from a guru: 'A special kind of support'

<p>Chess legend Garry Kasparov sends his congratulations to the youngster and calls his mother's support that of a special kind.<br /></p>

10/10:A joyous smile

<p>R Praggnanandhaa smiles after winning his semi-final match against Fabiano Caruana, the World No.3.<br /></p>

A proud mother's emotions during chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa's biggest tests

Prag has reached thus far by beating top guys like Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, albeit via tiebreaks. Pragg's performance has shown that he has got the potential - and so do D Gukesh and Erigaisi Arjun - to follow Anand's path.