Praggnanandhaa R, an Indian chess prodigy, advanced to the final of the FIDE Chess World cup 2023 in Azerbaijan on Monday.
In the last four of the famous event the 18 year old defeated the American-Italian Fabiano Caruana, 3.5-2.5 to go to the title match against Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen.
With the victory, Pragg becomes the tournament’s youngest finalist, ending India’s lengthy wait for a FIDE World Cup finalist since the famous Viswanathan Anand.
Pragg didn’t just beat the World No.3, Caruana but also won against World No.2 Hikaru Nakamura whom he faced in the forth round.
He won against French player Maxime Lagarde in the second round of the event.
38-year-old Czech veteran David Navara was his challenge in third round.
He defeated Nakamura in the forth round and took on Hungarian Ferenc Berkes in the fift round.
The 18 year old won a triumph against compatriot Arjun Erigasi in the event’s quarterfinals to set up a final-four matchup with Caruana.
In the semifinal round held in Baku, the teenage prodigy defeated Fabiano Caruana to set up a matchup against Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.