‘Congrats to Praggnanandhaa and his mother, it’s a special kind of support’: Russian grandmaster Kasparov hails Indian teen after semi-final victory

Former World Chess Champions Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand congratulated Indian grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.

Praggnanandhaa and his mother on the right. Praggnanandhaa against American player Fabiano Caruana on the left. (Source: X/@photochess/FIDE/Stev Bonhage)

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Former world champion and Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov congratulated Indian grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa for his terrific win against World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana on Monday.

Praggnanandhaa defeated Caruana after four rapid tiebreak games and thereafter stormed into the final of the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Follow our live blog of the FIDE World Cup final between Praggnanandhaa vs Magnus Carlsen here

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With this result, the 18-year-old has now set up a summit clash with world number one Magnus Carlsen.

Showering praise on the Indian teen, Kasparov congratulated Praggnanandhaa and lauded his mother for ‘special kind of support’.

“Congrats to @rpragchess —and to his mother. As someone whose proud mama accompanied me to every event, it’s a special kind of support! The Chennai Indian defeated two New York cowboys! He has been very tenacious in difficult positions,” he wrote in his tweet.

Congrats to @rpragchess—and to his mother. As someone whose proud mama accompanied me to every event, it’s a special kind of support! The Chennai Indian defeated two New York cowboys! He has been very tenacious in difficult positions. https://t.co/y8oJ6Z446M

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) August 21, 2023

Praggnanandhaa also became the first Indian since Viswanathan Anand in 2002 to make it to the final of the FIDE World Cup.

Congratulating the Indian star, Anand took to his social networking site ‘X’, formerly Twitter and wrote: “Pragg goes through to the final! He beats Fabiano Caruana in the tiebreak and will face Magnus Carlsen now. What a performance!”

Pragg goes through to the final! He beats Fabiano Caruana in the tiebreak and will face Magnus Carlsen now.

What a performance!@FIDE_chess #FIDEWorldCup2023

— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) August 21, 2023

India’s R Praggnanandhaa managed to defeat American GM Fabiano Caruana via the tiebreaker to seal his entry into the final of the FIDE World Cup on Monday.

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After two classical games on Saturday and Sunday and Monday’s two rapid games ended in draws, the Indian managed to defeat American GM Fabiano Caruana in the third game of the tiebreak to put one foot into the final.

He then shut the door on Caruana in the final tiebreak game to seal a spot in the final against Magnus Carlsen.