CHENNAI: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa is making it a habit of beating the top players in the circuit. Days after defeating world champion Magnus Carlsen during a preliminary stage clash of the ongoing Chessable Masters, an online tournament, Praggu beat Anish Giri to make the final of the competition on Tuesday night.
The Anish-Praggu match ended 2-2 after the 4-game rapid match and the 16-year-old won the tie-breaker 1.5-0.5 to book his place in the summit clash. Praggu faces World no. 2 Ding Liren who defeated Magnus 2.5-1.5 in the other semifinal.
Praggu, who wrapped things up at around 2 am on Wednesday morning, had very little time to celebrate his win. “There was very little time to reflect on the win. I hardly slept for about 4 hours as I had to wake up early and go for my class XI exams at 8.45am. I had my commerce paper and have managed to do well,” Praggu told TOI.
After their opening encounter ended in a draw, Praggu’s match with Anish picked up steam in Game 2. Praggu set Anish a trap in the endgame to take the lead. The subsequent clash saw fortunes shift from one player to another. Praggu managed to stay strong and force a draw. It was in Game 4 when Anish turned the things in his favour to not only win that game but take the clash into the tie-breaks.
In the tie-breaks, Anish erred in the opening blitz game and soon resigned to hand Praggu the much-needed advantage. Praggu, in the next blitz game, only needed a draw to win the match. The young gun did just that. “The win against Anish is very satisfying because he had come to this match unbeaten in the tournament. He is a very strong player and to have done well against him is a big confidence booster,” Praggu pointed out.
He conceded that making the final of such a strong tournament was a surprise. “As is the case with every tournament I play — the plan was to give a tough fight. Making the final was unexpected,” he said.
On the final against Ding, Praggu said, “He is a high-quality player. I hope to put up a tough fight.”
The Anish-Praggu match ended 2-2 after the 4-game rapid match and the 16-year-old won the tie-breaker 1.5-0.5 to book his place in the summit clash. Praggu faces World no. 2 Ding Liren who defeated Magnus 2.5-1.5 in the other semifinal.
Praggu, who wrapped things up at around 2 am on Wednesday morning, had very little time to celebrate his win. “There was very little time to reflect on the win. I hardly slept for about 4 hours as I had to wake up early and go for my class XI exams at 8.45am. I had my commerce paper and have managed to do well,” Praggu told TOI.
After their opening encounter ended in a draw, Praggu’s match with Anish picked up steam in Game 2. Praggu set Anish a trap in the endgame to take the lead. The subsequent clash saw fortunes shift from one player to another. Praggu managed to stay strong and force a draw. It was in Game 4 when Anish turned the things in his favour to not only win that game but take the clash into the tie-breaks.
In the tie-breaks, Anish erred in the opening blitz game and soon resigned to hand Praggu the much-needed advantage. Praggu, in the next blitz game, only needed a draw to win the match. The young gun did just that. “The win against Anish is very satisfying because he had come to this match unbeaten in the tournament. He is a very strong player and to have done well against him is a big confidence booster,” Praggu pointed out.
He conceded that making the final of such a strong tournament was a surprise. “As is the case with every tournament I play — the plan was to give a tough fight. Making the final was unexpected,” he said.
On the final against Ding, Praggu said, “He is a high-quality player. I hope to put up a tough fight.”
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