Carlsen has to tie-break with the Indian prodigy

Carlsen said he suffered from food poisoning after the semi-final against Nijat Abasov on August 21, and has not been able to eat or drink for the past two days. In the first game of the final, he held the black piece and drew with Praggnanandhaa after only 35 moves. In the second game today, August 23, the Norwegian player held a white piece but chose to draw after just over an hour of competition. He wants to finish the game quickly, to better prepare for the fast chess tie-break series that starts at 6pm on Thursday 24/8.

Despite being poisoned by breast milk, Carlsen still thinks that's not an excuse. "Not eating anything helps me stay calm, because I don't have the energy to worry," he said on August 22.

Both games that have passed in the final have at times attracted hundreds of thousands of simultaneous views, on Youtube. The tie-break series is expected to attract more viewers because of the decisive factor, as well as the attractiveness of fast-paced chess. In both standard games, Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa scored an average of 99% of their moves with the computer. However, in fast chess, it is difficult for two players to achieve such accuracy.

This is only the second time at the Carlsen tournament that he has to tie-break, after the match against Vincent Keymer in the fourth round. At that time, he lost the first standard game to the teenage player, but won the second game and went into a tie-break to beat his opponent in a fast series.

And Praggnanandhaa will have to tie-break for the fourth time at this year's tournament, after matches against Hikaru Nakamura, Erigaisi Arjun and Fabiano Caruana. Against masters like Nakamura and Caruana, the 18-year-old won from fast chess. As for his close friend Erigaisi in the quarterfinals, Praggnanandhaa fought until a series of blitz chess to continue.