BAKU: Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat compatriot Arjun Erigaisi 5-4 in a sudden death tie-break to book a place for himself in the semifinals of the FIDE World Cup, underway in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday.
With the win, the 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa secured a spot in next year's Candidates event. The Indian prodigy will now face American ace Fabiano Caruana in the semi-final.
The top three in the tournament will qualify for the Candidates event in 2024 to determine the challenger to Ding Liren.
With world no.1 Magnus Carlsen not likely to play in the Candidates, Praggnanandhaa could be playing in the tournament to decide the challenger to reigning world champion Ding Liren.
The Chennai lad is going to be the only other Indian other than five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand to compete in the Candidates.
Praggnanandhaa received a bye in the first round before he went on to outclass Maxime Lagarde in the second round and David Navara in the third.