Praggnanandhaa vs Magnus Carlsen, Chess World Cup 2023: Final To Be Decided By Tiebreaker On Aug 24 Draw In Game 2

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa drew the second classical game of the final of the FIDE World Cup against world No.1 Magnus Carlsen here on Wednesday.

The two players settled for a quiet draw in 30 moves after one-and-a-half hours of play in game two.

The champion will be decided in the tie-breaks on Thursday.

Carlsen played a solid game with white pieces against Praggnanandhaa. The teenaged Indian did not face any troubles with black pieces, with the players agreeing to a draw after 30 moves in an equal Bishop ending.

"Praggnanandhaa has already played a lot of tiebreaks against very strong players... I know he is very strong. If I have some energy, if I have a good day, obviously I will have good chances," Carlsen said after Game 2.

"I am very grateful to the organisers, FIDE and the doctors and nurses, who got me some good treatment. Today, I am feeling a bit better but I still didn't feel like I had the energy for a full fight, so I thought, let's get one more day of rest. Hopefully, I will have more strength tomorrow," the world No. 1 added.

The first game on Tuesday had ended in a stalemate after over four hours of play and 70-plus moves, following which Carlsen said he was a bit under the weather.

The 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa had stunned world No. 3 Fabiano Caruana on Monday via the tie-break in the semifinals to set up a summit clash with Carlsen at the World Cup.

Praggnanandhaa, thus, became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.