A fortnight ago, I wrote about Magnus Carlsen’s narrow escape against the German teenager Vincent Keymer at the Fide World Cup in Baku. That brush with mortality seemed to galvanise the world no. 1, who coasted to the final with convincing victories in his next three matches, against Ivanchuk, Gukesh and Abasov. His next opponent was another exceptional talent, 18-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa from India, and Carlsen’s triumph in the tiebreak secured victory in perhaps the only major event which he had never managed to win before.

   Nevertheless, Praggnanandhaa had perhaps even more reason to be satisfied with his own performance. His achievement became front-page news in India and drew praise from Narendra Modi. His silver medal also secured a spot in the Candidates tournament in Toronto in April 2024, whose winner will earn the right to challenge Ding Liren for the world title. Another spot was awarded to the third-place finisher Fabiano Caruana. Carlsen’s announcement that he will almost certainly forgo his spot means that Nijat Abasov, the Azeri grandmaster who finished in fourth place, will likely be joining them in Toronto.

A sparkling win from an early round of the event:

M. Lagarde-R. Praggnanandhaa

Fide World Cup, Baku 2023

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nge7 4 Nc3 The Cozio defence (3…Nge7) against the Ruy Lopez contains a splendid trap in case of 4 O-O Ng6 5 d4 exd4 6 Nxd4 Bc5 7 Be3 Bxd4 8 Bxd4 Nxd4 9 Qxd4 Qg5. White’s best response is 10 e5, but what could be more natural than 10 Nc3, defending the loose bishop on b5? In fact, Black wins on the spot with 10…Nh4 11 g3 Nf3+, a sequence which has tripped up hundreds of players in online play. Ng6 5 d4 Nxd4 6 Nxd4 exd4 7 Qxd4 c6 8 Be2 Qb6 9 Qd3 Be7 10 f4 An ambitious approach from the inventive French grandmaster. O-O 11 h4 d5 Accelerating development is paramount. It is much too risky to grab a pawn with 11…Bxh4+ 12 g3 Be7, when the open file for the Rh1 spells trouble. 12 h5 dxe4 13 Qg3 If the knight retreats to the corner, Lagarde would have reason to be optimistic. But what follows is far stronger: Nh4! 14 Rxh4 Qg1+ 15 Bf1 e3! The crucial detail, which had to be seen before venturing 13…Nh4. 15…Bxh4 16 Qxh4 would nominally restore the material balance, but the knight and bishop would be far superior in a middlegame with only one open file for the rooks to play on. 16 Nd1 Re8 17 Ke2 A grim necessity, as 17 Bxe3 Bxh4 18 Qxh4 Rxe3+ 19 Nxe3 Qxe3+ is still catastrophic for White. Be6 18 b3 Preventing the check on c4, which would be fatal in the event of any capture of the e3 pawn. Rad8 19 Nxe3 Bf6 20 Rb1 Bf5 21 Qf2 (see diagram) Allowing a pretty tactic, but White could hardly move. 21 Bb2 Bxb2 22 Rxb2 was a plausible try, but 22…Re4 would prepare Rd8-e8, and 23 b4 (intending Rb2-b3) Be6 threatens check on c4 again. Then 24 Qf2 Rd2+ wraps up the game. Bxh4! With the lovely point that 22 Qxg1 Bg4 is mate! Not 21…Qxf2+ 22 Kxf2 Bxh4+ 23 g3 leaving both bishops under attack. 22 Qxh4 Bxc2 23 Qxd8 Rxd8 24 Nxc2 Three minor pieces are a match for the queen when they have a measure of coordination. But here everything in White’s camp is loose, so the queen is in her element. Qc5 25 Ne3 Re8 26 Kf3 Qd4 27 Ke2 Qc5 28 Kf3 Qxh5+ 29 g4 Qh1+ 30 Kg3 Re6 31 Bd2 h5 32 gxh5 Qxh5 33 Re1 Rg6+ 34 Kf2 Qh4+ 35 Kf3 Qg3+ 36 Ke4 Rd6 37 Re2 f5+ White resigns