With just 16 players out of 206 participants that started the event remaining in the fray, most of the players decided against taking undue risk and decided to wait for the next game.
Arjun Erigaisi will start as the favourite against veteran Hungarian Peter Leko, while R Praggnanandhaa faces the inventive Daniil Dubov.
Harikrishna continued his success story with the seasoned Grandmaster, who famously assisted Gukesh in the World Championship title match, showcasing his skills as a brilliant attacker.
Viswanathan Anand believes that this year's world championship can happen in Chennai if R Praggnanandhaa wins the Candidates Tournament
Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna had another good day as they sent veteran Peter Leko of Hungary and Swede Nils Grandelius packing in the fourth-round tiebreaker at the Chess World Cup, in Panaji on Thursday.
First game of Wei Yi-Esipenko, Nodirbek-Sindarov semifinals end in a draw
Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi scored his fourth victory on the trot and gave India an early lead in the match against Serbia in the fourth round of the ongoing 45th Chess Olympiad.
Reigning champion Koneru Humpy displayed her trademark composure and tenacity to remain in joint lead in the women's section.
Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi bowed out of the World Chess Cup after a 2.5-3.5 loss to Sam Shankland of United States in the second set of tie-break games of third round, in Panjim on Sunday.
World champion D Gukesh finally managed to beat the legendary Viswanathan Anand when it mattered the most to help PBG Alaskan Knights finish third.
World champion D Gukesh and compatriot Arjun Erigaisi delivered in a must-win situation to help PBG Alaskan Knights register their first win in the Global Chess League (GCL) in Mumbai on Thursday.
India's hopes in the FIDE World Cup 2025 will depend solely on second seed GM Arjun Erigaisi after GM P Harikrishna went down in the fifth round tiebreak against GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara in Panaji, Goa, on Sunday, as per a release from FIDE.
Arjun Erigaisi briefly reached a career-high live rating of 2771.2 earlier this week and is the only Indian since Vishwanathan Anand to do so.
Divya Deshmukh not only became the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women's World Cup, she also instantly secured the prestigious Grandmaster title.
Gukesh, Erigaisi snapped up by PBG Alaskan Knights in GCL draft
World champion D Gukesh bowed out of the Chess World Cup, losing the third-round match to Frederik Svane of Germany, while Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa made it to the last-32 stage, in Panjim on Saturday.
Hikaru Nakamura stunned world champion D Gukesh as India were whitewashed 0-5 by USA in the first Checkmate, an evening of chess presented as a live arena spectacle in Arlington, USA.
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi was stunned by Nikolas Theodorou of Greece in the second round of Sharjah Masters chess tournament in Sharjah.
FIDE World Cup: Gukesh seeded top, Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa second and third
India's Arjun Erigaisi delivered a commanding performance against American Awonder Liang, while compatriot Nihal Sarin lost to Germany's Vincent Keymer in the opening round of the Chennai Grandmasters Chess tournament on Thursday.
Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi was held to a draw by 12-year-old Argentine sensation Oro Faustino in the first game of the second round of the FIDE World Cup in Panjim on Tuesday.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced a significantly relaxed dress code for next month's World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Doha, "allowing classic non-distressed jeans for both men and women", a year after the 'jeansgate' storm involving Magnus Carlsen at the same event.
Uzbekistan's GM Javokhir Sindarov set up a title clash against Chinese GM Wei Yi in the FIDE World Cup in Panaji on Sunday as the two players also confirmed their spots in the Candidates tournament.
Grandmaster Diptayan Ghosh caused the biggest upset of the World Chess Cup, ousting former world championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia after winning the second game of the second round, in Panjim, on Wednesday.
Erigaisi in second place, German GM Keymer leads after three rounds of Chennai chess
Grandmasters Raunak Sadhwani and S L Narayanan, India's two best hopes, were held to draws by Daniel Barrish of South Africa and Steven Salas Rojas of Peru in the first game of the opening round of World Chess Cup, in Panjim, on Saturday.
Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi pipped Rinat Zumabayev of Kazakhstan in the fifth round to share the top spot.
The trophy was unveiled during a colourful opening ceremony which was attended by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and FIDE chief Arkady Dvorkovich.
Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa finished in sixth and seventh position respectively, even as Grandmaster Levon Aronian of the United States reigned supreme in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam.
Vaishali knew she had to win to remain in contention and her approach right from the start was in sync with the requirement of the tournament situation.
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin's hopes of making to the Candidates tournament suffered a setback as he lost to Alireza Firouzja of France in the ninth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
Arjun also remained unbeaten through all the nine rounds and finished half a point ahead of Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov.
Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi play out draw, Awonder beats Pranav in wonderkid clash
Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, who has also qualified for the Women's Candidates, has opted out of the women's section to compete with the best in business.
Arjun prevailed over Abdusattorov 1.5-0.5 while Praggnanandhaa lost an intense battle 3-4 against Caruana.
Arjun Erigaisi had to face involuntary downgrade from business class, rude staff and above all baggage loss.
In the open section, Gukesh squandered a winning position against Erdogmus and eventually had to settle for a draw in a dramatic, time-troubled encounter.
World Champion D Gukesh suffered his second straight defeat at the FIDE Grand Swiss, losing to Greece's Nikolas Theodorou in the sixth round in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
Praggnanandhaa wins UzChess Cup Masters, becomes top-ranked Indian and World No.4
World champion D Gukesh's struggles continued as he slumped to a third successive defeat, losing to 16-year-old Turkish Grandmaster Ediz Gurel in the seventh round of the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Thursday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances