Praggnanandhaa likely to be the 2nd Indian to play the Candidates

It was an eventful quarterfinals for the Indian contingency in the FIDE World Cup 2023 with 4 Indians having qualified for the round and having a shot at a slot in the candidates with Magnus Carlsen having clearly stated that he’s unlikely to participate in the event. 

The Candidates is a competition wherein 8 chess players, 3 of whom would be semifinalists of the FIDE World cup would compete against each in a round robin format and the top ranked player from that event would challenge the reigning world champion for the title. Currently that spot is held by Ding Liren of China who had beaten Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia for that spot. Magnus Carlsen after winning 5 consecutive tournaments had declined from defending his title the previous time. 

Current world number 9, Gukesh had a tough competition in Magnus Carlsen. He managed to draw one game but eventually Magnus Carlsen had the better of him. Vidit Gujarati lost to Nijav Abasov of Azerbaijan. The local capitalised on an error by Gujarati in his 30th move and ended up giving a checkmate.

Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Eragasai played out an all India encounter which was nail bitingly close and went down to the decider after both the players won with black twice. However Praggnanandha prevailed making him only the second Indian to enter a world cup semi finals. Currently he’s only thinking of rest after the exhausting clash.