IMAGE: It was a historic day for Indian chess as 18-year-old R Praggnanandhaa became the youngest to play in the World Cup final. Photograph: Maria Emelianova/FIDE
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa wrote a golden chapter in Indian chess history by becoming only the second player from the country after Viswanathan Anand -- and the youngest -- to play in the FIDE World Cup final.
The 18-year-old Indian lost the summit clash to Norway's world No.1 Magnus Carlsen in Baku on Thursday.
A look at his journey in the elite event:
R Praggnanandhaa's road to World Cup final:
- Got a bye in first round.
- Defeated French Grandmaster Maxime Lagarde 1.5-0.5 in second round.
- Beat experienced Czech GM David Navara 1.5-0.5 in third round.
- Beat world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura of USA 3-1 in fourth round.
- Beat Hungarian Ferenc Berkes 1.5-0.5 in fifth round.
- Registered a come-from-behind 5-4 win over compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the sixth round.
- Beat Italian-American Grandmaster, Fabiano Caruana, ranked third in the world, 3.5-2.5 in the semifinal to become the youngest to reach the summit clash of the World Cup.
- Game 1 of Final on Tuesday ended in a draw after 35 moves.
- Game 2 between Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen also ended in a quick draw in just 30 moves.
- Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen returned on Thursday to play in the shorter time control games, with the Indian losing in the tie-break.