CHENNAI: Both R Praggnanandhaa and Magnus Carlsen tried to find openings but positions did not permit them to get a positive outcome. So it was no surprise that both decided to shake hands and call it a draw after just 35 moves in the first match of the World Cup final in Baku on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old Indian, playing with white pieces, had a natural advantage but after surviving a gruelling tie-break in the semifinal against Fabiano Caruana, will be happy with the rest before coming back fresh on Wednesday. “It will be a fight,” he told FIDE when asked to speak on what lies ahead. “He will definitely push very hard. I will try to rest and come fresh, think that’s the best I can do.”
Both players had equal pieces on the board (three pawns, a horse and a rook) and it was a surprise to see Carlsen, who had a substantial advantage on time (34 minutes to Praggnanandhaa’s 10), accepting to not even put his better endgame skills to use.
However, he kind of explained his decision. “Normally, I would just probably have a bit of an advantage having a rest day while he had to play a tough tiebreak,” he told FIDE.
“But I have been in a pretty rough shape the last couple of days. I got some food poisoning after that game against (Nijat) Abasov. I haven’t been able to eat for the last two days. This also meant that I was really calm because I had no energy to be nervous.”
The World No 1, who bids to win a first World Cup, has the advantage with white on Wednesday but Praggnanandhaa, who has already qualified for next year’s Candidates, has shown that he can dig deep, if needed.