Hikaru dumped out of FIDE World Cup after 18-year-old phenom uses obscure opening line

Hikaru Nakamura, streamer extraordinaire and world number two, failed to make it past the round four in the FIDE World Cup as 18-year-old Indian phenom Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated him in back-to-back games in the first tiebreaker round on Aug. 11.

After two draws in the classical games, the series between the two grandmasters progressed to tiebreakers with faster time control. Just like in their two classical games, the players went into a well-known tactical line of the King’s English Opening, but this particular sideline quickly led to a venomous affair, where a typical piece sacrifice by White didn’t work out because of the move order and the bishop’s placement.

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