India’s 18-year-old Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa created history by becoming the youngest player to reach the final of a FIDE World Cup earlier this week. He may have lost the final to World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in tiebreakers, but it was undoubtedly his best-ever performance at a major tournament.
It was also a breakthrough tournament for India’s ‘Golden Era’ of chess prodigies, with four of them making it to the quarterfinals.
Winning the World Cup would’ve been a sensational result for Praggnanandhaa but by just making it to the final, he’s done what no other Indian since five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand has managed to do — secure a spot in the 2024 Candidates Tournament.
What level is the World Cup?
The World Cup term may seem like it’s the highest tournament for chess players, but the FIDE World Cup essentially falls in the third rung of chess tournaments below the World Chess Championships and the Candidates Tournament.
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What’s the Candidates Tournament?
The Candidates Tournament is an eight-player event that is held to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. It’s the second-best chess tournament and players have to qualify for the event, with no wild cards or invitations given. So far Praggnanandhaa is the only Indian to have qualified for the 2024 event.
What’s the format, and when will it be held?
All the Candidates Tournaments since 2013 have been held in a double round-robin format. It will be held in Toronto from April 2-25.
Who is the current World Champion?
Ding Liren stunned the world earlier this year by becoming the first Chinese Grandmaster to compete and win the World Chess Championship which was held in Astana. He beat his Russian Challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi in tiebreakers to win the ultimate prize.
Isn’t Carlsen World No. 1?
After winning the title five times, Norwegian Carlsen decided not to defend his title this year and said that he would not play the future tournaments. Stating that he “lacks the motivation to play classical chess because of the large amount of preparation required for a game”, Carlsen has qualified for the 2024 tournament having reached the semifinal of the FIDE World Cup but said he will participate in the Candidates “under the current format”. His spot will go to Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov, who finished fourth in Baku.
Chennai: Students from Velammal Vidyalaya, the alma mater of Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, wave the Indian Flag as they cheer ahead of his final round of matches against Norwegian Grandmaster and World No. 1 player Magnus Carlsen, in Chennai, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (PTI)
क्लेरिकल एसोसिएशन वेलफेयर सोसाइटी ने विधायक को सौंपा ज्ञापन
How will Praggnanandhaa gear up for the Candidates?
Though there are still about seven months for the tournament, Praggnanadhaa’s focus will undoubtedly be on the Candidates. With his coach RB Ramesh, the Chennai lad has been using various techniques to get better at his craft, even playing games by just reciting the moves without actually moving the pieces.
From the time he became the world’s youngest International Master as a 10-year-old in 2016, his dream was to compete at the World Chess Championship. When he became a Grandmaster at the age of 12 in 2018, the second-youngest at the time, he was hailed as the successor to the legendary Anand and expectations grew.
Praggnanandhaa knows this and will possibly work with other international trainers to master certain aspects of his play, like getting better at theoretical endgames. He may have beaten World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana at the World Cup but at the Candidates, players generally up their game. So the youngster will have to prepare well.
Will he play in any tournaments?
Ranked 29th in the world, Praggnanandhaa will want to play as many top events to improve his rating. He’s already reached Dusseldorf, Germany to compete at the World Rapid Team Championship 2023. He will also compete at the Tata Steel Masters next month.
With his compatriot and friend Gukesh entering the top 10 and even surpassing Anand in world rankings, Praggnanandhaa will not want to be left far behind. Having already made it to the Candidates, he can now play without having the burden of qualification.
Can the other Indians make it to Candidates?
There are four spots still up for grabs and as per FIDE criteria, the top two finishers in the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament in October-November this year will qualify. One spot is for the winner of the 2023 FIDE Circuit and another is for the player with the highest rating in January 2024. Nepomniachtchi keeps his spot in the Candidates by virtue of being the last challenger.
For Indian youngsters like Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, Arjun Erigaisi and Vidit Gujrathi, the best way to qualify for the Candidates is by reaching the final of the Grand Swiss Tournament.