FIDE World Cup 2025 R4 TB: Arjun Erigaisi and Pentala Harikrishna advance to Round of 16
Arjun Erigaisi and Pentala Harikrishna won their respective tie-breaks to advance to the fifth round of FIDE World Cup 2025. Arjun won both 15'+10" Rapid tie-break games against the legend, Peter Leko. On the other hand, Harikrishna saved a tough position in the first one. In the second 15'+10" Rapid game, Harikrishna played fine chess to beat his longtime Novy Bor teammate and Sweden no.1, Nils Grandelius. Two-time Asian Junior champion, Aleksey Grebnev eliminated former World Blitz champion, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Samuel Sevian (USA) won the third Sudden Death of the event against Lorenzo Lodici (ITA) after trading six consecutive wins, all with white pieces. Round 5 Game 1 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Praggnanandhaa gets eliminated
World Blitz 2018 champion, GM Daniil Dubov is not only an artist but a cerebral player. In the first 15'+10" Rapid tie-break against, GM R Praggnanandhaa, he drew in less than five minutes and 12 moves. In the second game, Dubov played 4...d6 after returning to the board, drinking water and calming himself down. Then he played his next move. That is experience and creative genius. Fun fact: Out of the 16 players in Round 5, only one of them have played a FIDE Candidates tournament before. That is, the two-time World Cup winner, Levon Aronian. It means at least two new Candidate is guaranteed to be attained by the end of this event.
Arjun - Leko: 3-1
GM Arjun Erigaisi won both 15'+10" Rapid tie-break game against GM Peter Leko (HUN) to advance to the fifth round. He will face the only two-time World Cup winner in history, GM Levon Aronian (USA) and write a new chapter in their storied rivalry.
Leko - Arjun, Game 3
Arjun made his intentions very clear and took the pawn 17...Nxh4 18.Rh1 Ng6 19.d5 Rad8 20.Qg5 h6 21.Qh5 Bd7-+ and Arjun went on to convert his advantage into a win.
In the second 15'+10" Rapid tie-break game, Leko was in a must-win situation. So he had to take chances and it did not work out. Arjun's conversion was human, it was not the most precise but he did not any big mistake. A draw would have also sufficed for him to secure a spot in the Round of 16.
Praggnanandhaa - Dubov: 1.5-2.5
GM R Praggnanandhaa made a quick 12-move draw in less than five minutes in the first 15'+10" Rapid tie-break game against GM Daniil Dubov. In the second game, Praggnanandhaa once again struggled to find his footing and Dubov played a beautiful sacrifice to gain material and the upper hand.
Praggnanandhaa - Dubov, Game 4
37...Nd3! 38.Qxb6 Qxe2 is over for White as Black gains an exchange and his opponent virtually has no counterplay left. Dubov soon won the game and secured his place in Round 5.
Frederik - Shant: 2.5-1.5
GM Frederik Svane (GER) won the first 15'+10" Rapid tie-break game convincingly against GM Shant Sargsyan (ARM). Then he drew the next 15'+10" Rapid game although he was winning as it was enough to clinch the match and secure his place in Round 5. Frederik will face GM Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) in the next round.
Wei - Parham: 5-3
GM Wei Yi (CHN) and GM Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI) drew all four Rapid games. Then Wei won the next two 5'+3" Blitz games to win the match 5-3 and advance to Round 5. He will face GM Samuel Sevian (USA) in Round 5.
Replay Wei - Parham tie-break games
Grandelius - Harikrishna: 1.5-2.5
GM Pentala Harikrishna had a shaky start in the first 15'+10" Rapid tie-break game against his Novy Bor teammate, GM Nils Grandelius. The Sweden no.1 could not make the most out of his opportunity and the resourceful Harikrishna managed to scrape a draw.
Harikrishna played beautiful chess in the second 15'+10" game to score a win and seal the match. He will face the Mexico no.1, GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara in Round 5.
Harikrishna - Grandelius, Game 4
25.e5! is a fantastic necessary break which shifts things in White's favor Qxc4 26.Rxc4 dxe5 27.d6! a necessary sacrifice to break Black's pawn structure 27...e4 28.Nce5 Rxd6 29.Bxd6 cxd6 30.Nc4 Nb7 31.Nxb6 Nc5 32.Nd2 Nd3 33.Rxe4 Rxe4 34.Rc8+ and it's over.
Sevian - Lodici: 6-5
The first two 15'+10" Rapid tie-break games between GM Samuel Sevian (USA) and GM Lorenzo Lodici (ITA) ended in draws.Then Sevian and Lodici traded wins in the next two 10'+10" Rapid, two 5'+3" and two 3'+2" Blitz games. All of them were won by the player having the white pieces. Sevian won the Sudden Death with the black pieces to win the match 6-5 and advance to the next round where he will face GM Wei Yi (CHN).
Replay Sevian - Lodici tie-break games
MVL - Grebnev: 1.5-2.5
The World Blitz 2021 champion, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) lost the first 15'+10" Rapid tie-break against the two-time Asian Junior champion, GM Aleksey Grebnev. Grebnev drew the next one comfortably to win the match and set up a clash against his fellow compatriot, GM Andrey Esipenko.
Shankland - Rapport: 3-1
GM Sam Shankland (USA) completely blew his opponent, GM Richard Rapport (HUN) out of the board by scoring two contrasting victories in two 15'+10" Rapid tie-break games. First one was a positional masterclass, second one was an attacking battle.
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Scores after Round 4 tie-breaks
GM Peter Leko (HUN) - GM Arjun Erigaisi: 1-3
GM R Praggnanandhaa - GM Daniil Dubov: 1.5-2.5
GM Nils Grandelius (SWE) - GM Pentala Harikrishna: 1.5-2.5
Round 5.1 pairings
GM Pentala Harikrishna - GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (MEX)
GM Levon Aronian (USA) - GM Arjun Erigaisi
