CHENNAI: Young gun R Praggnanandhaa seems to be at his best when playing World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. After having beaten the Norwegian twice this year - at the Airthings Masters in February and during Chessable Masters in May - Praggu got the better of Carlsen 4-2 in the seventh and final round of the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami on Sunday - an online event part of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. A superb show notwithstanding, Praggu could only finish second. Carlsen won the tournament as he topped the points table with 16 match points while Praggu ended one point less.
Carlsen made it to the last round with a two-point lead and only needed a win or draw in the first four rapid games to become the champion. The encounter began with the first two rapid games seeing the two players splitting points. The 31-year-old won the third rapid game and with it the title. Having lost a chance to clinch the whole thing, Praggu achieved the next best thing - to finish the event on a high. Praggu won the fourth rapid clash in 51 moves to take the encounter into the tiebreakers. Praggu won both tie-breaker games to eventually win the match.
