Norwegian legend Magnus Carlsen clinched his maiden FIDE Chess World Cup title after beating Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the final on Thursday.
Praggnanandhaa's valiant fight in the final ended in a heartbreak as he lost the first rapid game of the tiebreaker and took a draw in the second before choosing to shake hands with Carlsen.
The world No. 1 Carlsen has now won every major individual classical tournament, and completes chess.
The 32-year-old six-time champion clinched a prize money of $110,000 (₹91 lakh approx) while 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa will take home $80,000 (₹66 lakh).
How Carlsen won the first game
In a game where fortunes swung from one side to another, the 18-year-old Indian sensation surrendered the point after coming under time pressure.
Carlsen won game 1 in 45 moves and will have the advantage of white pieces in the second game, leaving Praggnanandhaa in a must-win situation.
Praggnanandhaa, playing with white, made the first move -f e4 - and got into a better position due to some careful maneuvering. Carlsen responded with an e5 at the start of the contest.
Meanwhile, Fabiano Caruana scored a convincing victory with black over Nijat Abasov in their first tie-break game and now only needs a draw in the second to clinch third place.
In the end, it was Carlsen, who clinched the title as he won two consecutive games to end the game in heartbreak for the 18-year-old prodigy.
