Three of India’s top chess players D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, and Vidit Gujrathi are under pressure to deliver in the second games of their second-round matches at the World Cup on Wednesday. All three drew their opening encounters against lower-rated opponents at the Rio Resort in Goa on Tuesday.
Gukesh, who entered the tournament as the top seed and current world champion, could not find a breakthrough against Kazakhstan’s Kazybek Nogerbek (rated 2538). Similarly, Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by Temur Kuybokarov of Australia (2535), while Vidit Gujrathi had to settle for half a point against 12-year-old Argentine prodigy IM Faustino Oro (2495).
With each match being a two-game mini-series, the second game has now become crucial for all three Indians. A loss would end their World Cup journey early, while a win would send them into the next round. Their opponents are also in the same position they must avoid defeat to stay alive in the event.
Arjun Erigaisi shines, others settle for draws in FIDE WORLD CUP
Among the Indian contingent, Arjun Erigaisi stood out on Tuesday. The in-form grandmaster won his first game with the black pieces against Martin Petrov of Bulgaria, giving himself a strong advantage going into the return leg.
India’s No. 5 player, Aravindh Chithambaram, and No. 6 Nihal Sarin also played out draws in their opening games. Chithambaram faced fellow Indian Karthik Vekataraman, who held him to a solid draw with the white pieces.
Vidit Gujrathi, meanwhile, faced a tense battle against young Faustino Oro. The 12-year-old pushed the Indian GM to his limits, and Vidit had to make 24 moves in 12 minutes and 17 moves in just three minutes to escape with a draw.
In other results, America’s Levon Aronian and China’s Wei Yi both began their campaigns with wins. Aronian defeated India’s Aronyak Ghosh, while Wei Yi got the better of Kacper Piorun of Poland.
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Among other big names, Anish Giri of the Netherlands, Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, and India’s P Harikrishna had an average day, all drawing their respective games. Ukraine’s veteran Vassyl Ivanchuk suffered a loss.
In a surprise result, Indian GM Diptayan Ghosh (2573) held Nepomniachtchi (2732) to a draw, while Bojan Macsimovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2532) split the point with Giri (2769) after 56 moves.
