PM Modi hails Praggnanandhaa for 'remarkable performance' at Chess World Cup

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa for his remarkable performance at the FIDE World Cup and said he showcased exceptional skills to give a tough fight to the formidable Magnus Carlsen in the finals.

Indian chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa could not pull off a repeat of his giant-killing acts of the last few days as fancied Magnus Carlsen beat him 1.5-0.5 in the tie-break to win the FIDE World Cup in Baku on Thursday.

Praggnanandhaa's dream run in the tournament ended at the hands of the world number one after the classical games ended in a stalemate and required a tie-breaker to identify the winner.

In a post on X, Modi said, "We are proud of Praggnanandhaa for his remarkable performance at the FIDE World Cup! He showcased his exceptional skills and gave a tough fight to the formidable Magnus Carlsen in the finals."

"This is no small feat. Wishing him the very best for his upcoming tournaments," the prime minister said.

The two classical games on Tuesday and Wednesday had ended in draws, stretching the final into a tie-break.

Praggnanandhaa enjoyed an incredible run in the tournament, having beaten world number two Hikaru Nakamura and world number three Fabiano Caruana to set up a final date with Carlsen.

The results in the ongoing tournament also helped Praggnanandhaa qualify for the Candidates 2024 tournament, which will be held in Canada to determine the challenger to world champion Ding Liren of China.

Praggnanandhaa also became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.