Arjun Erigaisi and Harikrishna score wins as Gukesh draws in FIDE World Cup

Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna scored convincing wins with white pieces, while world champion Gukesh D drew his game as ten Indians featured in Round 3 of the FIDE World Cup 2025 being held in Panaji, Goa

Hyderabad: Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna came up with near-perfect play with white, while world champion Gukesh D settled for a draw with black pieces in the opening game of Round 3 in the FIDE World Cup in Panaji on Friday.

Arjun, the highest-ranked Indian in the fray, defeated Uzbekistan’s Shamsiddin Vokhidov in 30 moves, while Harikrishna once again showed his command over preparation to beat GM Daniel Dardha of Belgium in 25 moves, putting themselves in the driver’s seat to reach the fourth round.

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A total of 10 Indians have made it to the third round of the FIDE World Cup 2025, which is being played as a single-elimination knockout tournament with 206 players from 82 countries vying for the coveted Viswanathan Anand Cup, named after the Indian legend.

Arjun, who had won both his matches in the second round after getting a bye in the first, never looked in any trouble against Vokhidov. The only time he pondered over his move for more than 10 minutes was when he was on the verge of victory and was looking for a quicker finish — making it three wins in as many games in the competition.

A few minutes earlier, Harikrishna had become the first player to register a win in the third round. The 39-year-old caught his opponent by surprise in a Sicilian Classical variation and forced him to resign quickly.

“I had prepared something new. Of course there was help for me, but I could not recall all the moves in this variation. There were some nice tricks that happened and some moves my opponent missed. Basically, he did not realise the danger properly in the game,” said Harikrishna after the match.

Among the other Indians in the fray, world champion Gukesh D, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi played out draws with black pieces and will now have a chance to go for a win with white to reach the next round.