Gukesh to face Carlsen in chess World Cup quarterfinals; Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi set up all-Indian clash

Three Indian players D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup chess tournament here on Sunday. Gukesh defeated China’s Wang Hao 1.5-0.5 to set up a much-awaited quarterfinal clash against world No.1 Magnus Carlsen while Praggnanandhaa completed a win to book a match against compatriot Erigaisi, making sure an Indian will feature in the semifinal. After Saturday’s win in game 1, Gukesh played a solid match with white pieces to secure a draw against Hao to book his spot in the quarterfinals. Carlsen defeated Ukrainian legend Vassily Ivanchuk in the second game to post a 2-0 win. Erigaisi settled for a quick draw against Sweden’s Nils Grandelius to move into the last eight. Meanwhile, Vidit Gujrathi and D Harika drew for a second time against their respective Russian opponents and will play in Monday’s tie-breaker. Gujrathi drew with fourth seed Ian Nepomniachtchi in 49 moves while Harika shared honours with second-seeded Aleksandra Goryachkina.