R Praggnanandhaa was all set for the sudden-death blitz game. He had engaged in a bitter fight with Arjun Erigaisi, his friend and walking partner, for much of the day in the FIDE World Cup quarterfinal match in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday.

The first two Rapid games (25-minute time control) had ended in draws, the next two (10-minute time control) saw them both win with black pieces, and the Blitz games saw a repeat -- both winning with black again. They were locked at 4-4. That set them up for the sudden-death blitz game -- whoever won would make it to the semi-final.

Sitting in the players' lounge, the 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa was trying to get his mind off the blunder he had committed in the second of the normal blitz games when he had taken the knight instead of the rook. He had resigned a few moves later and banged his fist on the table.

But he had a look up at the clock and thought he saw five minutes remaining for the sudden-death game to start. He went to the restroom and when he came out he discovered he was running late. By the time he made it to the board, he had lost 40 seconds, and that is never the best way to start a Blitz game.

“It was not nerves,” said Praggnanandhaa. “I saw it was saying five minutes but maybe I was mistaken. I thought I will use the restroom and lost track of time for a bit... I had to run for the game. I was washing my face and then suddenly, I was running.”