Following outwitting Dutch GM Anish Giri 3.5-2.5 on Wednesday, young Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian player to reach the final of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Chessable Masters tournament.
After a 2-2 deadlock in the four-game rapid online semifinal match, the Indian chess superstar overcame the highly-rated Giri in a tiebreak. Praggnanadhaa will compete for the title against world No. 2 Ding Liren of China, who defeated world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen 2.5-1.5 in the other semifinal.
The semifinal’s first game resulted in a dull draw until the 16-year-old Praggnanandhaa won the second to inflict Giri his first loss of the tournament. The veteran Dutch player appeared to have the upper hand in the third game, but Praggnanandhaa, as he is known in chess circles, came back to force a draw and go up 2-1.
16-year-old Praggnanandhaa stuns World class GM Anish Giri in the Semi-Finals of the Chessable Masters 2022. Pragg beat Giri in tiebreaks 1.5-0.5 after their 4-game rapid match ended in a 2-2 draw.
The Indian youngster will now take on world no.2 Ding Liren in the finals! pic.twitter.com/w0jow3eW5e— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) May 24, 2022
Faced with loss, Giri came back to win the fourth game and put the semifinal match to a tie-break. In an Italian Opening match, the Dutchman stumbled in the opening blitz game, surrendering it in 33 moves. Giri gained an edge in the second tie-break game, but the Indian held fast, and the game ended in a draw, putting the youthful ace into the summit battle.
The match ended late at night after which Praggnandhaa said, “I have to be at school around 8.45 AM, and now it is 2 AM!” Meanwhile, his coach R B Ramesh, a GM himself, said “Congratulations @rpragchess for the victory over Anish in the semifinal of #ChessableMasters ! The ability to beat strong players despite having a bad score in the past is amazing. Proud of you kutti.”
Praggnanandhaa has performed admirably throughout the event. In the preliminary round, he had beaten Carlsen, who had finished fourth.
