Baku [Azerbaijan], August 24 : Indian chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa said that he still has to make improvements in his chess to catch up with the world number one player Magnus Carlsen, to whom he lost in a hard-fought final of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) World Cup.
World No 1 Magnus Carlsen defeated India's grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa to clinch the title of International Chess Federation World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday.
"Today it did not go my way, but it is normal in sports. Magnus is the best player in the world, I still have to improve my chess to catch up with him. I am going towards that direction," said the young chess prodigy to ANI.
He said that both he and Magnus were tired on Thursday while playing tie-breakers.
"We were both tired, without much energy. It has been one long event. He managed to play better than me," he said.
Talking about his focus towards the Chess Olympiad 2024, Praggnanandhaa said that there is still a lot of time and there are many tournaments coming in the near future that are occupying his mind.
The All India Chess Federation (AICF) chief Sanjay Kapoor said that this is the "golden age" of Indian chess.
"This is the golden age of chess in India. Many Vishys (Vishwanathan Anand) are born in this era and they are playing really well. Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi blessed this sport, it has turned to gold. Chaturang was our game and now it has come back to us," added Sanjay.
The Norwegian chess grandmaster won the first game of the Rapid Chess tie-breaker with black pieces and managed to hold on for a draw in the second game with white pieces. The tiebreaker is played in a Rapid Chess quicker-time control format. Praggnanandhaa fought hard but fell short with Carlsen summoning all his big match experience when it mattered the most.
Earlier on Wednesday Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen drew both their games of Classical Chess.
Praggnanandhaa had to settle for the position of runner-up of the 2023 FIDE World Cup but he will draw hope from the fact that he has qualified for the FIDE Candidates tournament.
The 2024 Candidates Tournament will be an eight-player chess tournament scheduled to be held from 2 April to 25 April 2024 in Toronto, Canada. The winner of the tournament will become the challenger for the 2024 World Chess Championship match.
Praggnanandhaa had an excellent tournament where he defeated World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura in a tie-breaker while reaching the final defeating World No 3 Fabiano Caruana.
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