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Caruana Wins, Carlsen-Praggnanandhaa Draw: Both Matches Move To Tiebreaks
No mercy shown by the 2018 World Chess Championship challenger. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Caruana Wins, Carlsen-Praggnanandhaa Draw: Both Matches Move To Tiebreaks

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The last classical games of the 2023 FIDE World Cup could not have been more different from each other. In the final between GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, the drawn outcome was predicted as early as move five, while in the third-place match GM Fabiano Caruana won a wild tussle against GM Nijat Abasov.

Caruana's win on demand takes the match to rapid (and possibly blitz) tiebreaks, which is also where the World Cup winner will be decided after two classical draws in the Carlsen-Praggnanandhaa match.

The tiebreak games of the final and third-place matches begin an hour earlier than usual on Thursday, August 24, at 6 a.m. ET / 12:00 CEST / 3:30 p.m IST.

   How to watch the 2023 FIDE World Cup
You can watch the 2023 FIDE World Cup broadcast on Twitch and YouTube. You can also find all the details for the Open and Women's sections on our live events platform.
The broadcast was hosted by GM Daniel Naroditsky and GM Peter Leko. 

Not an interview takes place where fatigue goes unmentioned by the players, who have played a collective 94 games in the event thus far. They will have to wait another day before they can finally rest, as the second games' results took both matches to tiebreaks, one match more peacefully so than the other.

Praggnanandhaa with his head on the table
One day more. Photo: Stev Bonhage/FIDE.

Caruana-Abasov: Caruana's Homework Sets Up Success

In a must-win situation, the world number-three took his opponent into Tal's "deep dark forest" and the path leading out was indeed only wide enough for one—although at times it looked like Abasov might be able to build a fortress to prevent either player from leaving the metaphorical forest.

In their first game, the local sensation had switched up his opening with great results against an exhausted Caruana who later complimented his opponent's play but described his own play as a "disgrace." Employing the same tactics is risky, even against a tired opponent, and Caruana correctly predicted Abasov's opening switch with the black pieces and prepared his own surprise of 6.Bf4 in their second game.

The super-grandmaster hoped to take the game further into unfamiliar territory for his opponent by long castling, which he described as "very rare." The result was a wild position that he deemed dangerous for both sides, as White's knight invaded Black's camp while his own king's shelter was ripped apart.

It was clear that Caruana had done his homework better than Abasov—the normally quick-moving Azerbaijani burned through his time while his opponent's clock remained above its starting time, and when Abasov did move quickly, it was on the incorrect 11...Qe7. Caruana knew this wasn't his opponent's best way forward, but said it was hard to fault in a position where few "decent" moves existed. 

In his post-game interview, Caruana shared that his game had followed an under-14 girls' game from "years back," where White had played a near-perfect game. It seems he was referring to Australian Sally Yu's game in the 2007 under-14 Girls' World Youth Chess Championship, where she was coincidentally the 69th seed in the event (the same seeding as Caruana's current opponent).

15 years ago, Yu's opponent retreated her queen back to e7, but in the present day Black played a move that was good two moves previously, but was found wanting as the 13th move.

Out of his preparation, but with a winning advantage, Caruana spent 20 minutes on his first think of the game and found the correct route forward whereby he picked up an exchange and simply looked to be heading toward a winning endgame. Abasov looked uncomfortable at the board, but perked up as his opponent faltered on his 20th move.

Caruana later realized that his 20.Bb5 was inaccurate, but at the time felt the alternatives were too complicated to figure out. Although the engine evaluation remained firmly in White's favor, it was little comfort for the American's fans, as talk of fortresses arose and it looked like the super grandmaster might be unable to break through Abasov's defenses.

Caruana himself was not particularly concerned, feeling that he had good winning chances throughout. He attributed this to his opponent's pawn on g5, which he felt was a weakness and a hook that he could attack, and he was relieved when Abasov allowed his king to reach f2 as he followed a plan similar to what Leko had predicted from an earlier position.

Leko showing a variation similar to what occurred in the game.
Leko took over the role of "The Prophet," predicting a similar king march and pawn pushes to what happened in the game.

As the game stretched on, the commentators had plenty of time to share their own stories of long games and defending difficult endgames. Leko also revealed the touching meaning behind the samurai sword that has been a staple feature of his background during broadcasts.

Although it looked like White was just shuffling his pieces around the board, that was not the case, and it was probably a shock for Abasov as he realized he might be in trouble on his 55th move.

The engine evaluation had not changed over the previous few moves, but there was one key difference: while the 28-year-old had previously had multiple moves available to keep the evaluation stable, in the position he faced there was only one move that didn't send the bar rocketing in White's favor.

Caruana standing in front of the digital boards after his 55th move
The critical moment. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Tired, under pressure, and in a prolonged endgame that had been complex even for those with engine assistance, the hometown hero spent 11 minutes but couldn't find his saving grace of 55...Rc1. Caruana quickly extinguished any remaining hope, and Abasov resigned himself to tiebreaks a few moves later.

GM Rafael Leitao has provided insight on the complex struggle in the annotated game below.

Abasov is no stranger to tiebreaks, having knocked out GMs Laurent Fressinet, Anish Giri, and Peter Svidler in his fantastic run to the third-place match, and Caruana will not have fond tiebreak memories following his loss to Praggnanandhaa two days ago. The third seed is expecting another tough tiebreak match tomorrow, and plans to rest in preparation, but we'll see if either play brings more opening surprises to the board.

Abasov with his face in his hands
A draw would have been enough for third place, but now he'll have to fight on in the tiebreaks. Photo: Stev Bonhage/FIDE.

Carlsen-Praggnanandhaa: Over Before It Began

Although Praggnanandhaa was expecting a fight in the second classical game, a still-recovering Carlsen instead opted for what he termed "one more day of rest," and a draw was the peaceful result in a game that barely lasted an hour.

With the white pieces, the former world champion took the game into the Four Knights variation—a surprise in and of itself—and early on a draw was already the predicted result.

Praggnanandhaa didn't go straight for the draw, opting for 9...Qe6 over 9...Qe7 and inviting Carlsen to create an imbalance by trading queens for an asymmetrical pawn structure. The Norwegian did think for a bit, but made his drawing intentions clear with 10.Bf4, after which Praggnanandhaa lapsed into a 15 minute think of his own.

It's not easy to play in a situation where one or both players are aiming for a draw, as relaxing too soon can cause a careless mistake that can quickly turn the game around. In this case, both Carlsen and his young opponent took their time to ensure they were giving their opponent no small edge that might encourage them to continue playing.

The number-one seed showed his clinical precision, even in a game he was trying to draw: as Praggnanandhaa's bishops eyed White's pawns, Carlsen played 15.Rhd1!—a move that just seconds earlier Leko had described as: "[15.Rhd1] is very smart, but it's more 'computer-ish' than human."

In response, the Indian phenom played it safe, and it wasn't much longer before the players shook on the draw that would take the match to tiebreaks. Both players will welcome the additional rest—Praggnanandhaa is younger and not afflicted by food poisoning, but he's had three tough tiebreaks to play (against GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Arjun Erigaisi, and Caruana) for a total of 28 World Cup games compared to Carlsen's 19.

If the world number-one returns at full strength tomorrow, he fancies his winning chances, but he recognizes that Praggnanandhaa is no easy opponent. The two have never met over the board in rapid or blitz games, but they are familiar opponents online in events such as the Champions Chess Tour.

Praggnanandhaa at the board
Can Praggnanandhaa win his fourth set of World Cup tiebreaks to set even more records? Photo: Stev Bonhage/FIDE.

Currently, Carlsen leads the 18-year-old in rapid time controls with seven wins to three and five draws, so he will be hoping to win his first World Cup crown in the early tiebreaks. Praggnanandhaa has already shown his proficiency in the faster time controls by dispatching the lightning-fast Nakamura, and he even leads Carlsen 2-1 in their online blitz encounters.

Although a quiet classical draw was not what sold out a live screening of the final in India, few fans will complain of seeing more chess from the two superstars, in quicker time controls where chaos and exciting chess often ensues. Make sure you don't miss the final action in the historic battle, by tuning in to watch the last day of the 2023 FIDE World Cup.

The trophy for the 2023 FIDE World Cup
Both players will break records if they take the trophy home, but anything can happen in the faster games. Photo: Stev Bonhage/FIDE.

The 2023 FIDE World Cup and Women's World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, are big knockout events that will determine six spots in the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournaments. The action began July 30 and ends August 24, with a combined $2.5 million prize fund.

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