Young GM R Praggnanandhaa on Friday gained each fast video games to remove second-seeded Hikaru Nakamura to enter the final 16 of the FIDE World Cup chess event in Baku. After the 2 classical video games resulted in attracts, the 18-year outdated Indian, who celebrated his birthday on Thursday, surprised the American GM within the tie-break video games at the moment. Five-time world champion and Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand hailed the younger GM and stated, “Praggnanandhaa does it! Eliminating one of the pre tournament favourites Hikaru Nakamura to go through to the next round. A truly impressive performance by Prag!” Praggu, as he’s identified amongst followers, was joined within the final 16 by fellow teenager D Gukesh, who ousted Andrey Esipenko.

Praggnanandhaa will meet Hungarian GM Ferenc Berkes within the spherical of 16.

However, one other Indian – Nihal Sarin- bowed out of the competitors, shedding each the tie-break video games to Ian Nepomniachtchi within the fourth spherical.

Indian gamers Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi had already secured final 16 berths.

In the ladies’s part, D Harika superior on the expense of Eline Roebers, profitable the fast tie-break.

However, the nation’s No.1 ladies’s participant Koneru Humpy was ousted by Bella Khotenashvili (Georgia) as she misplaced each the tie-break video games after the two-match classical sequence had ended 1-1 with every participant securing a win.

Harika is the one Indian participant remaining within the ladies’s occasion.