Before matches, I prefer to have Indian food: Pragg

INDIAN Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa is deeply moved with the love and affection showered on him by the chess fraternity and the fans across the world for winning a silver medal at the 2023 FIDE World Cup at Baku.

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Pragg, as he is affectionately called, insists that he takes one tournament at a time and believes that the silver medal will propel him to do well at the Candidates. In an interview with this daily, Pragg talks about things he needs to improve, Indian chess and importance of food. Excerpts...

How happy are you with the World Cup silver?

Yes, I'm happy to win the silver medal, but I didn't expect it. I was playing my natural game and things fell in place.

Did you ever expect to be playing against Magnus Carlsen in the final?

It was unexpected, but after some time (beating Nakamura) I thought I could make it.

Did you expect this final to go till the tie-breaker?

Yes, it was expected because almost both (Carlsen and me) of us got tired at one point.

What happened in the final tie-breaker?

Carlsen has played in many tiebreakers and had won them and thus he had got more experience in it. In the first game there was a chance to win, but I made a few mistakes so I couldn't make it.

But you had already beaten Carlsen before and in tie-breakers, you are good, so did you not believe that you could beat Carlsen?