Daniil Dubov stunned third seed Praggnanandhaa with black pieces in the second tie-break game.
| Photo Credit: FIDE
A runner-up in the last edition, R. Praggnanandhaa began as one of the strongest favourites at the Chess World Cup. He has had some fabulous results this year too, but not on Thursday.
The third seed from Chennai was knocked out in the fourth round by Russia’s Daniil Dubov at Resort. After settling for a 12-move draw in the first tie-breaker game, Praggnanandhaa lost with white pieces in the second, when he needed at least a draw.
But second seed Arjun Erigaisi and P. Harikrishna have ensured there is still an Indian presence in the tournament despite the farewells from Praggnanandhaa and top seed D. Gukesh.
Russians rule
Praggnanandhaa wasn’t the only big seed to fall on this day. Nor was Dubov the only Russian to prevail. Sixth seed Vincent Keymer of Germany and the 11th-seeded Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave were ousted by Andrey Esipenko and Aleksey Grebnev, respectively.
Arjun, who needs to finish inside the top three here in order to secure a place in the Candidates, won both his games against his much-experienced Hungarian opponent Peter Leko.
“For the two classical games, we both were really prepared, though I had a slight edge in the second game, but Peter showed his class by defending quite comfortably,” said the 22 year-old. “I was happy with the way I played the tie-breakers. I was pretty dominant.”
Harikrishna may not have been as dominant against Nils Grandelius of Sweden, but he too booked his ticket for the fifth round from the first set of tie-breaks. After drawing the opening game, he won the second in 34 moves.
The 39-year-old, who now lives in Prague, said he was playing a classical chess tournament in India after a long time. “And I hadn’t got much time to prepare,” he said. “It was only in September that I signed the contract for the World Cup.”
In the round-of-16, Harikrishna will play Jose Martínez Alcantara of Mexico, while Arjun will take on Levon Aronian of the United States.
The results: Fourth round (tie-breaks): Arjun Erigaisi bt Peter Leko (Hun) 2-0; P. Harikrishna bt Nils Grandelius (Swe) 1.5-0.5; Frederik Svane (Ger) bt Shant Sargsyan (Arm) 1.5-0.5; Andrey Esipenko (Rus) bt Vincent Keymer (Ger) 1-1, 2-0; Sam Shankland (USA) bt Richard Rapport (Hun) 2-0; Aleksey Grebnev (Rus) bt Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra) 1.5-0.5; Danill Dubov (Rus) bt R. Praggnanandhaa 1.5-0.5; Gabriel Sargissian (Arm) 1 drew with Awonder Liang (USA) 1; Wei Yi (Chn) bt Parham Maghsoodloo (Ira) 1-1, 1-1, 2-0; Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb) bt Yu Yangyi (Chn) 1.5-0.5; (Uzb); Vincent Keymer (Ger) 1 drew with Andrey Esipenko (Rus) 1; Samuel Sevian (USA) bt Lorenzo Lodici (Ita) 1-1, 1-1, 2-0.
Published – November 13, 2025 08:33 pm IST
