CHENNAI/BAKU: R Praggnanadhaa held firm to deny Fabiano Caruana a win with white pieces in the semifinal of the ongoing FIDE World Cup on Saturday. The Indian teen, who is set to feature at the Candidates next year anyway because of Magnus Carlsen’s likely withdrawal, did face trouble on multiple occasions but held his ground in a rook endgame where Caruana had an extra pawn.
On Sunday, the Indian will have white pieces to attack the higher-rated US player. If Praggnanadhaa can eke out a win, he will advance to the final where he may face Carlsen, who edged local lad Nijat Abasov in a wild game.
The Norwegian, who is one draw away from advancing to his first-ever World Cup final, could have found himself in a losing position but Abasov couldn’t spot the opening needed to ram home the advantage. So, Carlsen, who showcased his endgame nous against D Gukesh in the quarterfinal, survived that lapse in confidence to eke out the win with white pieces.
“I have to say today was just really, really nervy, so I didn’t particularly enjoy the game today, but I do enjoy the result, and if I don’t lose tomorrow, if I get to the final, then I think some of the pressure will certainly be off!,” he told FIDE post the win.
Pragg had earlier beaten his best friend Arjun Erigaisi in the quarterfinals. RB Ramesh, his coach, has been following his games very closely and is expecting him to go all the way. During an interaction before Saturday’s match he said that their aim was to play Hikaru Nakamura well. But Pragg managed to overcome him. And that he felt would give him more confidence.
“If we can beat Hikaru, then that will give a lot of confidence and we can meet the further opponents with more confidence,” he said.
This newspaper interacted with coach RB Ramesh before Saturday’s semifinal game. Interview on Monday. For video, go to The New Indian Express YouTube channel.