Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna advance to FIDE World Cup pre-quarterfinals

GM Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup 2025 with impressive tiebreak wins, while R Praggnanandhaa exited after losing to Daniil Dubov. Two of three Indians in the tiebreak progressed to Round of 16

Hyderabad: GM Arjun Erigaisi of Telangana defeated GM Peter Leko in both rapid games, while P Harikrishna capitalised on his chances to beat GM Nils Grandelius in the second game and advance to the pre-quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup 2025 here on Thursday.

However, R Praggnanandhaa’s campaign came to an end after losing to former World Rapid Champion GM Daniil Dubov in the fifth round.

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With Pranav V and Karthik Venkataraman losing in the classical games in round five, three Indians entered the tiebreak, and two of them ultimately advanced to the next round.

Arjun was the star of the day as he won the opening rapid game in 40 moves with black, pouncing on Leko’s error of sacrificing a pawn before finishing strongly. In the second game, the Hungarian had to take risks in a must-win situation, but the Indian kept his cool under pressure to win in 57 moves.

“I am very happy. The tiebreak went well. The classical games were pretty intense and I had a slight advantage in the second game but he showed his class to draw. But in the tiebreak, I was pretty much in control,” said Arjun, who will now face two-time World Cup winner GM Levon Aronian.

Harikrishna also advanced, holding Grandelius in the opening game with black and then outplaying his opponent in 34 moves with white to set up a Round of 16 clash against giant-killer GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara.

In another top board clash, Praggnanandhaa drew the first rapid game with black in 12 moves and went for a win with white. But his gamble backfired as Dubov outfoxed him with a strong attacking line to win in 53 moves.

Elsewhere, GM Aleksey Grebnev defeated GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after winning the first rapid game with white in 70 moves and then drawing the second to advance. GM Sam Shankland won both his rapid games against GM Richard Rapport to reach the Round of 16.

India results (Round 4, Tiebreak):

GM Arjun Erigaisi bt GM Peter Leko (HUN) (3:1 aggregate)

GM R Praggnanandhaa lost to GM Daniil Dubov (FID) (1.5:2.5 aggregate)

GM P Harikrishna bt GM Nils Grandelius (SWE) (2.5:1.5 aggregate)