A day after turning 18, Indian chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa pulled off another surprising victory, by beating world number two Hikaru Nakamura at the 2023 FIDE World Chess Cup.
After drawing with white on Thursday, 10 August, Praggnanandhaa and Nakaruma played out another draw on Friday. However, it was the wunderkind from Chennai who eventually clinched victory, getting the better of the American in the tie-breaker.
Having beaten France’s Maxime Lagarde in the second round, Praggnanandhaa defeated Czech Republic’s David Navara in the third round, before edging past Nakamura. He will now face Ferenc Berkes, the 38-year-old Hungarian Grandmaster, in the round of 16.
“This is one of my best days, for sure,” Praggnanandhaa stated after the match.
Meanwhile, Nakamura displayed disappointment over his performance, stating “Overall I’m not super-unhappy with losing the match. Unfortunately for me, what this match came down to was the first game where I confused the move order, Pragg played g5 in the right position, and I never really got into the game.”
Barring Praggnanandhaa, four other Indians have qualified for the round of 16. D Gukesh, who is currently the nation’s top-seeded player after having recently surpassed Viswanathan Anand, will be facing China’s Hao Wang after his triumph over Andrey Esipenko, in a game that went to the tie-breakers as well.
Vidit Gujrathi had a fairly comfortable time against France’s Etienne Barcot, and he will now face Ian Nepomniachtchi, whereas Arjun Erigasi will face Sweden’s Nils Grandelius after beating Javokhir Sindarov.
Among the female Grandmasters, Harika Dronavalli qualified for the round of 16, courtesy of a tie-breaking win over Dutch International Master, Eline Roebers. The 32-year-old will be up for a stern challenge in the next round, facing the second-ranked female player, Aleksandra Goryachkina.
Fixtures of Indians in FIDE World Chess Cup 2023 Round of 16:
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa vs Ferenc Berkes
D Gukesh vs Hao Wang
Vidit Gujrathi vs Ian Nepomniachtchi
Arjun Erigasi vs Nils Grandelius
Harika Dronavalli vs Aleksandra Goryachkina.
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