Baku: The much-awaited final of the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) World Cup where Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is competing against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen has started here in Baku, Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
After defeating World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana in tiebreaks, Praggnanandhaa reached the final against Carlsen. Praggnanandhaa has faced Carlsen earlier also where he challenged the five-time world champion, defeating him thrice in the last 6 months.
Each match is composed of two traditional games employing a time control of 90 minutes for the initial 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes added after the 40 moves, and a supplementary 30-second increment starting from Move 1.
If a tie occurs, a playoff occurs on the third day of the round. The tiebreak procedure involves two rapid games with a time control of 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move. If further resolution is required, two 'slow blitz' games with a time control of 10 minutes plus 10 seconds increment per move follow.
Praggnanandhaa created history by advancing to the final of the FIDE World Cup, his coach RB Ramesh expressed his immense pride in Praggnanandhaa's exceptional performance in the global tournament and said that he is optimistic about Praggnanandhaa's chances in the final.
Praggnanandhaa's coach Ramesh told ANI, "I am extremely proud that he has been doing phenomenally well in this World Cup and he qualified for the World Cup final. And what I hear is he is the youngest to do so. And also he is the only Indian to qualify for the final." (ANI)
