Arjun, Praggnanandhaa to battle it out in tie-breaks as Indian hopes at FIDE World Cup hang by a thread

India’s hopes at the FIDE World Cup in Goa were left hanging by a thread after top stars Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa played out consecutive draws in Round 4 on Wednesday and will be battling it out in the tie-breaks on Wednesday.

Besides Arjun and ‘Pragg’, seeded second and third respectively, veteran Indian Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna will also be playing the tie-breaks on Thursday in order to remain in contention for a top-three finish – which will guarantee a place in next year’s Candidates Tournament.

Praggnanandhaa had a narrow escape against the Russian GM in Game 1 of Round 4, collecting a 41-move draw despite committing multiple blunders. However, the second game, which got underway with an Indian Game opening, was a lot more sedate with both players making some smart moves early on and eventually shaking hands after 30 moves with the eval bar remaining virtually level for the most part.

The fourth-round meeting between Indian No 1 Arjun and Hungarian GM Peter Leko did not have any of the drama that Game 1 between Praggnanandhaa and Dubov had. After playing out a 20-move draw in Game 1, Arjun and 46-year-old Leko shook hands in 36 moves in a game that began with a Nizmo-Indian Opening and witnessed some early exchanges – with both queens get knocked off the board by the 20th move.

Pentala, meanwhile will be squaring off against Sweden’s Nils Grandelius in the tie-breaks.

Pranav and Karthik latest Indians to bow out of FIDE World Cup

However, it was curtains for GMs Pranav V and Karthik Venkataraman at the prestigious event that’s taking place at Resort Rio in North Goa’s Arpora, leaving just three Indians in the fray.

Pranav was eliminated after losing to Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev in 38 moves with less than a minute left on the clock. Karthik, on the other hand, fought a more pitched battle against Vietnam’s Liem Le while playing as white before raising the white flag of surrender after 68 moves despite having a time advantage over his opponent.

The 2025 World Cup, the biggest tournament taking place in India since the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai, and had an unprecedented 24 Indians out of a total of 206 players, including reigning world champion D Gukesh.

However, 21 of those players have failed to reach the quarter-finals after suffering defeats in the first four rounds, with Gukesh suffering a stunning third-round exit after a defeat in the second Classical game of his third-round meeting with Germany’s Frederik Svane.

Among the other key players in action, Armenian-American GM Levon Aronian was one of just two players progressing to the fifth round, or the pre-quarter-finals, without having to compete in the tie-breaks after defeating Poland’s Radoslaw Wojtaszek 1.5-0.5 on Wednesday, having won the opening Classical game on the previous day.

Mexico’s Joss Martinez Alcantara also won with a similar scoreline in his fourth-round showdown against Serbia’s Alexey Sarana.