Pragg survives battle of nerves

The 18-year-old Indian GM, playing with black, held the world No.2 to a draw in the first of the two classical games in the semi-final in Baku

- Ashish Magotra

The first game of the classical leg of the Chess World Cup semifinal between Fabiano Caruana and R Praggnanandhaa at Baku, Azerbaijan on Saturday went exactly as expected with one critical difference.

The world No.2 from USA, playing white, forced a complex middle game from the Italian opening against the 18-year-old Indian. White could potentially create more threats while black’s position was somewhat passive. It demanded precision, and on the day Praggnanandhaa delivered exactly that to seal a well-earned draw.

The other semi-final between Magnus Carlsen and local star Nijat Abasov turned out to be a pretty wild game before the World No.1 eventually prevailed to take the lead. In comparison, Caruana versus Praggnanandhaa seemed tame, but that was only because of the manner in which the Indian GM withstood the pressure.

It was a fascinating battle to begin with because it gave us a glimpse of how deep preparation can go in modern chess. Right up to move 18, they were following previously played games, Then, with 22.Nc6 Nc5!, they finally moved away.

This level of preparation may seem normal to many, but just imagine the number of permutations and combinations they would have had to go through to arrive at these lines with ease. The process of elimination plays an important role but at the same, even though these players have gone through this multiple times, recalling it during match play isn’t always easy.