Carlsen exhibiting appreciation for Praggnanandhaa at finish of draw confirmed he loved the sport and it was a mark of respect, says GM Srinath Narayanan

A clap and a thumbs-up was what R Praggnanandhaa earned from World Champion Magnus Carlsen after their newest assembly led to a attract spherical eight of the Julius Baer Cup on Tuesday. The match was yet one more salvo in a rising cluster of contests between the 2 spanning a number of tournaments and totally different units of conditions.

Carlsen is in the course of a number of wars for the time being. On one hand, the World Champion refuses to defend his crown as a consequence of quite a lot of causes – mere months after a marathon battle in opposition to Ian Nepomniachtchi which he received 7.5-3.5 (the rating could appear lopsided, however the battle between the 2 was something however).

On the opposite hand, Carlsen retired for the second consecutive time in opposition to USA’s 19-year-old Grand Master Hans Niemann this week. The insinuation has been that the American has both discovered a approach to cheat with out getting caught or has earned his Norwegian counterpart’s ire for his chequered previous as a chess cheat in on-line tournaments.

In the midst of all this, there was the case of Praggnanandhaa and the hype engulfing the Indian teenager. GM Srinath Narayanan thinks that by 2024-25, Praggnanandhaa will probably be ready to problem Carlsen and different prime gamers on the earth throughout codecs.

“I think playing against Carlsen can make people go two ways. On one hand there is that added motivation – you’re playing the world champion and this is your chance. Or it can lead to intimidating circumstances where people would play worse than they normally do,” mentioned Srinath to the Indian Express.

“Pragg plays the first way. This is not his first challenge as he has grown in the chess world this way only. At one point facing any GM would have been a big challenge for him when he wasn’t a GM. He used to lose a lot of games initially and then overcame that. The process is similar.”

Praggnanandhaa has now racked up six victories over Carlsen, with three of them coming consecutively over the previous few months. Yesterday, throughout their time-controlled match, the Chennai-born teenager instantly gained the higher hand.

The opening that Carlsen went with was one which he had been utilizing for a number of opponents and had used as not too long ago because the day earlier than in opposition to Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi. But in accordance with Srikanth, the identical opening was not the perfect concept in opposition to Praggnanandhaa as when taking part in with black, it finally ends up giving an easy benefit to the participant taking part in with white items. And that’s precisely what occurred as Praggnanandhaa’s opening put him within the driver’s seat for the match.

But the benefit was one which the younger Indian was not in a position to capitalise on.

“One thing I felt was that Pragg was playing too slow. I think it’s been costing him a bit where he has been gaining good positions but he’s not able to finish it off. It happened against Arjun as well. I felt he could have played faster through the opening and earlier opening phases,” mentioned Srinath

“It can be quite challenging to manage a 15-minute time limit. Unlike classical chess, it is a thin line between maintaining your level of play, your quality and ensuring that you don’t fall too behind on time. I wouldn’t say it’s overthinking because it’s not an easy situation to balance,” he then added.

The lack of time on the finish was one of many components because the 17-year-old ceded his early recreation benefit and each Grand Masters settled for a draw. It was proper as the sport was about to attract to an in depth that Magnus clapped for his opponent and confirmed the thumbs as much as him. The Indian GM later advised Chess24 that he really didn’t see Magnus’ appreciative gesture.

“I didn’t see it then. I just checked it now. I didn’t know (then). It was a great fight, I think,” Praggnanandhaa advised Chess24.com. Praggnanandhaa then defined his recreation plan in opposition to Carlsen afterwards and mentioned, “He had already played this line against Arjun in the first game. I was checking it this morning. The set five is already completely crushing for white. I am upset that I couldn’t finish him off then.”

Srinath felt that Carlsen’s endgame gesture would do a world of excellent for the boldness of Praggnanandhaa.

“I think Magnus thoroughly enjoyed the game and that was a mark of respect and sportsmanship at the end of the game. I think it would have made Pragg feel good. Going home knowing he has gone toe-to-toe against Magnus regularly will do his self-belief a world of good.”