MILLIONS are tuning in today as the FIDE Chess World Cup final kicks off between Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and Indian teen prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.
The 18-year-old, fondly known as Pragg, is taking on the five-time world champion in Baku, Azerbaijan after defeating Fabiano Caruana in a tense semi-final.
Praggnanandhaa has already proven himself after beating Carlsen in an online elite rapid chess tournament just over one year ago.
The final began at 7am ET / 1pm CEST / 4:30pm IST.
Read our Chess World Cup final live blog below for the latest news and updates…
- By Henry Moore
Magnus goes 20 minutes without a move
It has now been almost 20 minutes since Magnus made a move.
You can almost see the gears moving in the Grand Master's head.
What will he do next?
- By Henry Moore
How to watch the final
You can watch the 2023 FIDE World Cup live on Chess24's Twitch and YouTube channels.
You can also catch up on the latest rounds via the official FIDE website.
- By Henry Moore
What is Magnus Carlsen's IQ?
Carlsen reportedly has an IQ of 190.
A score over 140 points is considered a genius level, which according to scientists on 0.5percent of people have.
He is the youngest chess player ever to be ranked number one in the world.
Chess icon Garry Kasparov personally coached him until 2010.
- By Henry Moore
How to qualify for the tournament?
- Reigning World Champion as of June 1, 2023.
- Winner, runner-up, and two other 2021 FIDE World Cup semifinalists.
- Reining Women's World Champion as of June 1, 2023.
- 2020 U-20 Junior World Champion.
- Eighty players who qualified from continental events.
- Thirteen highest-rated players (FIDE's June 2023 rating list) who did not qualify from any of the other paths.
- One player from the 2022 ACP Tour.
- One hundred players, determined by the final ranking of the 2022 Chess Olympiad main competition.
- Three FIDE President nominees.
- Two organizer nominees.
A quick exchange
Pragg has responded by taking D3 and Magnus quickly hit back with H6.
No pieces have been taken in quite some time now, things are getting very tense in this grand final.
Magnus takes A6
After a short break, Magnus has returned to move his pawn to A6.
How will Pragg respond?
Pragg was all smiles ahead of final
Chess prodigy Pragg was all smiles ahead of his epic final today.
The teen is joined in Baku by his mother.
The moves so far
Here are the first ten moves from each of our finalists, with Pragg moving first.
- C4 – E5
- NC3 – NF6
- NF3 – NF6
- G3 – D5
- cxd5 – NXD5
- BG2 – NF6
- B4 – BD6
- B5 – ND4
- QA4 – NXF3+
- BXF3 – O-0
Magnus takes Pragg's knight
And Magnus responds by taking Pragg's knight at F3.
Pragg quickly responds by taking the knight with his bishop at F3.
An exciting exchange between the two masters…
- By Henry Moore
Queen to A4
Pragg's ninth move of the match sees him move his Queen to A4.
Magnus has taken a long time to ponder his next move.
This is tense…
- By Henry Moore
Pragg moves to B4
Pragg is continuing his confident start here, as he moves his bishop to B4.
Magnus responds by moving to BD6.
- By Henry Moore
Pragg responds
Here are the first five moves from today's final
- 1 c4 e5
- 2 Nc3 Nf6
- 3 Nf3 Nc6
- 4 g3 d5
- 5 cxd5 Nxd5
It's been a positive start for Indian teen Pragg, but Magnus is sure to respond.
Where is the tournament taking place?
The 2023 FIDE World Cup happens in Baku, Azerbaijan, the birth city of the famous chess legend GM Garry Kasparov.
The games will take place in the luxurious five-star Baku Marriott Hotel Boulevard hotel, overlooking the Caspian Sea.
Magnus makes his move
After a moment of contemplating, Mangus moves his knight to F6.
This is an uncommon move, but how will it turn out for the world-number-one?
Upon making his first move, Magnus immediately leaves the table.
Pragg opens with C4
With the final underway, Pragg has opened with C4.
- By Henry Moore
Current FIDE player rankings
- Carlsen, Magnus – Nationality NOR – Rating 2835
- Nakamura, Hikaru – Nationality USA – Rating 2787
- Caruana, Fabiano – Nationality USA – Rating 2782
- Ding, Liren – Nationality CHN – Rating 2780
- Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Nationality RUS – Rating 2779
- Firouzja, Alireza – Nationality FRA – Rating 2777
- Giri, Anish – Nationality NED – Rating 2769
- So, Wesley – Nationality USA – Rating 2769
- Anand, Viswanathan – Nationality IND – Rating 2754
- Rapport, Richard – Nationality ROU – Rating 2752
- By Henry Moore
Simple chess rules
What can you do with the king?
The king is the most important piece on the chess board.
However it is also one of the weakest as the king can only move one square in any direction – up, down, to the sides, and diagonally.
The king may never move himself into check (where he could be captured). When the king is attacked by another piece this is called "check".
- By Henry Moore
The final begins
Here we go!
Praggnanandhaa has got today's final underway…
- By Henry Moore
What is the Chess World Cup 2023 prize money?
- Eliminated in Round 1 – 178 × $3,000 = $234,000
- Eliminated in Round 2 – 64 × $6,000 = $384,000
- Eliminated in Round 3 – 32 × $10,000 = $320,000
- Eliminated in Round 4 – 16 × $16,000 = $256,000
- Eliminated in Round 5 – 8 × $25,000 = $200,000
- Eliminated in Round 6 – 4 × $35,000 = $140,000
- 4th place – 1 × $50,000
- 3rd place – 1 × $60,000
- Runner-up – 1 × $80,000
- Winner – 1 × $110,000
- Total – 1,834,000
The Grand Final is about to begin
The Grand Final of the Chess World Championships is about to start.
It is set to be an intense battle between Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and Indian teen prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.
The 18-year-old, fondly known as Pragg, will take on the five-time world champion in Baku, Azerbaijan after defeating Fabiano Caruana in a tense semi-final.
Praggnanandhaa has already proven himself after beating Carlsen in an online elite rapid chess tournament just over one year ago.
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