R Praggnanandhaa's historic road to FIDE World Cup final

Baku: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa wrote a golden chapter in Indian chess history by becoming only the second player from the country after Viswanathan Anand -- and the youngest -- to play in the FIDE World Cup final.

The 18-year-old Indian lost the summit clash to Norway's world No.1 Magnus Carlsen here on Thursday.

PTI takes a look at his journey in the elite event: R Praggnanandhaa's road to the World Cup final:

1. Got a bye in the first round.

2. Defeated French Grandmaster Maxime Lagarde 1.5-0.5 in the second round.

3. Beat experienced Czech GM David Navara 1.5-0.5 in the third round.

4. Beat world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura of the USA 3-1 in the fourth round.

5. Beat Hungarian Ferenc Berkes 1.5-0.5 in the fifth round.

6. Registered a come-from-behind 5-4 win over compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the sixth round.

7. Beat Italian-American Grandmaster, Fabiano Caruana, ranked third in the world, 3.5-2.5 in the semifinal to become the youngest to reach the summit clash of the World Cup.

8. Game 1 of the Final on Tuesday ended in a draw after 35 moves.

9. Game 2 between Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen also ended in a quick draw in just 30 moves.

10. Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen returned on Thursday to play in the shorter time control games, with the Indian losing in the tie-break.