Picture Credit: Twitter
R Praggnanandhaa on Thursday beat Arjun Erigaisi to become the first Indian since Vishwanathan Anand to advance into the semifinals of Chess World Cup. The Indian Grandmaster outclassed Erigaisi in a sudden death move after series of draws in tie-breaker.
The 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster surpassed his challenge after he failed in the two classical games earlier in the week. It is to be noted that Vishwanathan Anand achieved this feat in 2002 and was the only until now to do so. Additionally, no Indian has reached the last four stage of the Chess World Cup, except Anand, who won the first two editions of the tournament in 2000 and 2002.
With this win over Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa will now face Grandmaster Fabino Caruana of America in the semifinals of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023. Top seed Magnus Carlsen will also be playing a semifinal match in Baku, Azerbaijan. Earlier, the 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa beat second seeded Hiraku Nakamura.
Picture of R Praggnanandhaa’s mother in tears surfaces
After the win of the 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster, pictures of his mother, who was also present during the competition has surfaced. In one of the pictures, his mother was seen in tears as he became only the second after V. Anand to achieve this feat and in another one, her smile speaks of her tears of joy.
