R Praggnanandhaa, the chess wonder from Chennai whose dream run took him to the Chess World Cup final against Magnus Carlsen, has fallen at the final hurdle.
World No 1 Carlsen, who had settled for a quick, unambitious draw with white pieces in the second of the two-game World Cup final to trigger the tie-break, won the first game and then went on to draw the second to clinch the title. It was Carlsen's first World Cup title.
For Praggnanandhaa, who celebrated his 18th birthday during the Championship held in Baku, it was still a sensational run. He had beaten World No 2 Hikaru Nakamura and then world No 3 Fabiano Caruana in the semifinals.
Along the way, he played some great tie-breaks before his luck ran out in the final. Probably, the exhaustion that he hinted at on Wednesday played a part in him losing the crown.
The chess prodigy had earlier become the second youngest Grandmaster in the world and before that the youngest international master at the age of 10. His run at Baku adds to that already impressive CV.
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