Indian chess Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa and world number one Magnus Carlsen agreed on a draw in the first round of the 2023 FIDE World Cup final, after 35 moves on Tuesday night at Baku, Azerbaijan.
Pragg, currently ranked 29th in the world, was playing with white pieces, made a solid start and Carlsen in his most match interview admitted he didn't know what to expect.
'I think Pragg moves around quite a bit in the opening, I didn't really know what to expect. To be honest, I didn't prepare. I think I was maybe slightly better today but I didn't really mind the draw,' said the world number one after the drawn game.
The two Grandmasters will play Round two of the final on Wednesday night.
'Yes, it'll be a fight. I'l definitely push very hard. I will try to rest and be fresh for the match tomorrow. That's the best I can do,' said Pragg after the opening match.
On Monday Praggnanandhaa had pulled off a big upset by entering the finals of the FIDE World Cup by defeating world number three GM Fabiano Caruana.
The win also helped him book his seat for the Candidates Tournament to be held in Canada next year. The winner of that event will challenge Chinese GM Liren Ding, the reigning world champion for the world title.
On his way to the final, Praggnanandhaa had also defeated American world number 2 GM Hikaru Nakamura.
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