INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
King Carlsen easily wins tiebreaker to take crownTrust Magnus Carlsen to be a great spoiler
R Praggnanandhaa's superb run to the World Cup chess final was almost too good to be true
1 outplayed the Indian teen in tiebreaks to win the only title missing from his kitty at Baku on Thursday
Watch: R Praggnanandhaa's 1st reaction after losing final against Magnus Carlsen at Chess World CupThe 32-year-old didn't even need
10-minute games to stop Prag
It was all over in the first set of two rapid games (25 mins and 10-sec increments) as Carlsen won the first and drew the next
He won $110,000 and Prag $80,000.AS IT HAPPENED: CHESS WORLD CUP FINALPrag will play the Candidates tournament in April, whose winner will
challenge world champion Ding Liren.Prag's dream run ends as King Carlsen stamps his authorityPrag was expected to give Carlsen a closer
fight but he proved to be more skillful and knowledgeable
This is not the first time Carlsen had put a dagger in the heart of Indian supporters
He came to Chennai for the World Championship as Challenger 10 years ago and dethroned V Anand from his perch
He retained the crown by beating Anand again in Sochi next year.In both those matches, he was the clear favourite for his greater ability to
bite hard and age was on his side too
The roles were somewhat reversed in Baku
The Norwegian was the older of the two but remained stronger.However, Carlsen once again underlined that the younger generation still has
some catching up to do before they can claim to have matched his endgame prowess and champion's attitude.The Indian, who was high on
confidence after beating No
3 Hikaru Nakamura, Erigaisi Arjun and No
2 Fabiano Caruana, tried to win the initiative in the first rapid game with white pieces
But Carlsen showed his peerless command in the endgame to win in 47 moves of Modern Bishop's opening.03:17Chess World Cup final: Carlsen
beats Praggnanandhaa in tie-breaks to win the titlePrag was better out of the opening and was pressing hard on the kingside
With his queen manoeuvred to g-file and attack on the 'f7' pawn, Prag was in a position where he could have called the shots
But Carlsen first found the king move (16...Kg7), eased the pressure and followed that with exchange of queen and rook
What followed (two knights, rook and four pawns vs knight, bishop, rook and four pawns) was a supremely coordinated attack of two knights
dancing to strangle the king
His rook almost circulated on the board, landing on 'a3' square from 'a8' via the h8-h3 route
The final act involved a mating threat too.Carlsen opted for Sicilian Alapin in the second game, also regarded as Anti-Sicilian against
Prag was facing a must-win game with Black
But Carlsen's level was a couple of notches higher
He spent just four minutes to Prag's 14
The draw was agreed after 22 moves when only four pawns, rook, knight and light-coloured bishops remained on the board.The champion enjoyed
a better position in this game from the word go
He would have given Prag a hard time in saving this position had he faced a must-win situation
The boy from Chennai can hold his head high for trying to win the initiative in the first game
But he may have to look higher to match Carlsen's vision
Excelling in classical chess is not Carlsen's top priority now
Still he defeated D Gukesh in the quarterfinals in his own game
Then he held Prag to two easy draws while recovering from food poisoning.Carlsen made it look like child's play
But even he is aware that the challenge from the Indian young brigade is going to be real
More so because the chess circuit is now also about online and blitz games with good prize money.WatchWatch: This is what R Praggnanandhaa
said after Chess World Cup final loss
