FIDE World Cup 2025 R2.2: Diptayan shocks Nepo, advances with Gukesh, Arjun, Harikrishna and Karthik
GM Diptayan Ghosh pulled off the biggest upset of FIDE World Cup 2025 so far. Diptayan knocked out the former two World Championship Challenger and the reigning World Blitz cochampion, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. It was indubitably the biggest win of his career and he won the match too. The World Champion, D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Diptayan, Pentala Harikrishna and Karthik Venkataraman are the five Indians who have advanced to Round 3. Eight Indians - R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin, Karthikeyan Murali, S L Narayanan, Pranesh M, Pranav Venkatesh and Raunak Sadhwani will have to play tie-breaks today. Surya Sekhar Ganguly, Aronyak Ghosh, Iniyan Pa and Aravindh Chithambaram got eliminated. Round 2 Tie-break games start today from 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Praggnanandhaa, Vidit, Nihal, Karthikeyan, Narayanan, Pranesh, Pranav, Raunak to play tie-breaks; Surya, Aronyak, Iniyan and Aravindh get eliminated
GM Diptayan Ghosh seized his opportunity when GM Ian Nepomniachtchi made an early mistake. He sent the reigning World Blitz cochampion packing. Thus, for the first time in five years Nepomniachtchi will miss Candidates. Apart from this, the other big upset of the day was GM Wesley So self-eliminating himsef by resigning in a position which he could have drawn. It was a study-like finish and perhaps he could not figure it out.
Nepomniachtchi - Diptayan: 0.5-1.5
One of the major drawbacks in GM Ian Nepomniachtchi's (2732) game is - him pushing pawns at an incorrect moment which caused his downfall. It has happened in multiple games. This one was no different. GM Diptayan Ghosh (2573) mentioned in the post-match interview that he had prepared a line from GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly's course. He could not play it in the first round as opponent did not allow him. This time he did and Diptayan gained the upper hand.
15.h3? allowed Ba6 16.Bc4 runs into Bxf2+ so 16.Qd1 Rad8 17.Nd2 Bd4 18.Qf3 Bxb2 Black gained a pawn 19.Bxb2 Rxd2 20.Qe3 Rdd8 Diptayan played precisely, understood his position well and went on to convert his advantage smoothly. This was the biggest win of his career. He will face the winner of the match between GM Maxim Rodshtein (ISR) and GM Gabriel Sargissian (ARM).
Kazybek - Gukesh: 0.5-1.5
GM Kazybek Nogerbek (KAZ, 2538) went wrong in an already difficult position against the World Champion, GM D Gukesh (2763).
38.f4?? did no good for White axb4 39.cxb4 Qa3 40.Nf1 Qxb4 and Black converted his advantage comfortably. This win helped Gukesh clinch the match. He will face GM Frederik Svane (GER) in Round 3.
Arjun - Martin: 2-0
World no.6, GM Arjun Erigaisi (2769) scored another emphatic victory against GM Nikita Petrov (BUL, 2548). Arjun punished his opponent for making an incorrect offer of a bishop trade. Arjun did not need to go for the maximum to win the match. He did it anyway, to make a strong statement, he just wants to win irrespective of the match situation. He will face the winner of the match between GM Maksim Chigaev (ESP) and GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB). They will play tie-breaks tomorrow, so we will have to wait a little longer to find out about Arjun's opponent.
Kuybokarov - Praggnanandhaa: 1-1
World no.7, GM R Praggnanandhaa (2768) made a strange choice of playing the Pirc Defence against GM Temur Kuybokarov (AUS, 2535). The Australia no.2 did not seem fish out of water. He handled the surprise quite well, played solid and drew. They will have to play tie-break games tomorrow.
Titas - So: 1.5-0.5
GM Wesley So (USA, 2764) went for an incorrect chain exchange which only worsened things for him against GM Titas Stremavicius (LTU, 2544).
Black went for an incorrect chain exchange starting with 22...Nxc3? 23.gxf6 Nxd1 24.fxe7 Nxf2 25.Bf6 Rxe7 26.Bxe7 Qxe7 27.Rxf2+- White got a decisive advantage. However, So fought back eventually as he had two pawns for the bishop.
In a winning endgame, White blundered 70.a4?? b4! 71.Ke4 Kg4 72.Ke3 and Black resigned. 72...Kh4! 73.Kf4 h1Q 74.Bxh1 Kh3 75.Kf3 Kh2 76.Bg2 Kg1 now 77.Kxg3 is a stalemate. Black thought the endgame was lost and could not find the study-like finish, so he resigned in a position which he could have drawn and forced tie-breaks. Instead, he self-eliminated himself from the tournament. White probably could be disappointed for not winning the endgame clean and allowing his opponent to get back in the game.
Keymer - Kovalev: 2-0
World no.4, GM Vincent Keymer (GER, 2773) scored a convincing win in the second game against GM Vladislav Kovalev (2557) to win the match and advance to the third round. Keymer's third round opponent will be the winner of the match between GM Dmitrij Kollars (GER) and GM Pranesh M.
Kacper - Wei: 0-2
GM Wei Yi (CHN, 2753) could have repeated moves at some point and taken a draw to win the match, secure his place in the third round. However, he decided to go for the full point, defeated GM Kacper Piorun (POL, 2557) again to win the match 0-2. He will clash against GM Benjamin Gledura (HUN) in Round 3.
Gergely - Shakhriyar: 1-1
GM Gergely Kantor (HUN, 2546) won a must-win game against GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2742) to force tie-breaks.
Surya - Vachier-Lagrave: 0.5-1.5
GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly (2559) almost managed to deliver the equalizer against GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 2740). However, it was not easy and MVL managed to escape with a draw. Thus, he advanced to Round 3 and Surya got eliminated. He will face the winner of the match between, GM Haik M Martirosyan (ARM) and GM Vladislav Artemiev.
Aronyak - Aronian: 1.5-0.5
GM Levon Aronian (USA, 2728) drew against IM Aronyak Ghosh (2520) as it was enough for him to win the match. He will face GM Salem Saleh (UAE) in Round 3.
Oro - Vidit: 1-1
The second game between IM Faustino Oro (ARG, 2495) and GM Vidit Gujrathi (2715) also ended in a draw. They will play tie-breaks. Vidit will have to finish things as early as possible. The deeper the match goes, the lesser the time is there on the clock, Oro becomes more favorite. The 12-year-old has played a lot of matches on shorter time controls on his sponsor site - Internet Chess Club as well as in person.
Aravindh - Karthik: 0.5-1.5
A minimum of one Indian was guaranteed to advance to Round 3 as soon as Round 2 pairings were known. However, GM Aravindh Chithambaram (2713) and GM Karthik Venkataraman (2576) are very good friends. So it was quite tough match for Karthik to play. He mentioned in the post-match interview that his opponent, Aravindh was not in his best shape.
White was reeling in the same color bishop endgame. 68.Kb2?? did not help his case. 68...Kd4 69.Kc2 Ke3 70.Kd1 Bf6 71.Bh2 Bb2 and Karthik went on to convert his advantage comfortably. He will face the winner of the match between GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU) and GM Aydin Suleymanli (AZE).
Nihal - Stamatis: 1-1
GM Nihal Sarin (2704) had some small chances in the queen and knight endgame. However, they were quite complex to find. He could not and the game ended in a draw. He will have to play GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (GRE, 2585). Nihal being amazing in the faster formats gives him an edge. One should not forget to factor in the intangible pressure of a World Cup too.
Harikrishna - Nesterov: 1.5-0.5
GM Pentala Harikrishna (2690) made a brilliant queen sacrifice on move no.8, an idea he has had for many years which he finally got to execute against GM Arseniy Nesterov (2595).
It is not every day one gets to sacrifice their queen in the first ten moves of the game. 8...cxd5 9.Nd6+ Kf8 10.Kxf2 Nc6 11.Be3 d4 12.Bf4 Qb6 13.Bd3 Ne7 14.Bd2 Nd5 15.Bxf5 Ne3 16.Bd3 Ke7 17.Rhe1 Rf8??
Can you find the beautiful continuation which Harikrishna executed in the game after 17...Rf8?? He will face the winner of the match between GM Grigoriy Oparin (USA) and GM Daniel Dardha (BEL).
Iniyan - Thai Dai van: 0.5-1.5
GM Iniyan Pa's (2601) ambitious attack did not pan out the way he would have preffered against GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE, 2652). The Czech Republic no.1 won the match 0.5-1.5 and will face GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) in Round 3.
Karthikeyan - Pouya: 1-1
GM Karthikeyan Murali (2662) drew a back and forth game against GM Pouya Idani (IRI, 2601). It could have gone either player's way. They will play tie-break games today.
Vitiugov - S L Narayanan: 1-1
GM Nikita Vitiugov (ENG, 2657) and GM S L Narayanan (2617) drew their game in-a-row. Tie-breaks will determine the winner of the match.
Pranesh - Kollars: 1-1
Both GM Pranesh M (2630) and GM Dmitrij Kollars (GER, 2628) had their fair share of winning chances. Neither player could seize their opportunity. Kollars had the final chance and a much bigger one. The game eventually ended in a draw. Tie-breaks will determine the winner.
Pranav - Tari: 1-1
As GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly said the other day, when you need a draw, do not play for a draw. That is a big psychological mistake. GM Pranav Venkatesh (2641) did not have the best day, allowing his opponent, Norway no.3, GM Aryan Tari (2631) to bounce back with a win.
Raunak - Hovhannisyan: 1-1
GM Raunak Sadhwani (2641) and GM Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM, 2629) will play tie-breaks to determine the winner of the match.
For more photos, please click here.
Scores after Round 2.2
GM Kazybek Nogerbek (KAZ) - GM D Gukesh: 0.5-1.5
GM Arjun Eriagisi - GM Martin Petrov (BUL): 2-0
GM Temur Kuybokarov (AUS) - GM R Praggnananandhaa: 1-1
GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly - GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA): 0.5-1.5
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi - GM Diptayan Ghosh: 0.5-1.5
IM Aronyak Ghosh - GM Levon Aronian (USA): 0.5-1.5
IM Faustino Oro (ARG) - GM Vidit Gujrathi: 1-1
GM Aravindh Chithambaram - GM Karthik Venkataraman: 0.5-1.5
GM Nihal Sarin - GM Stamatis-Arditis Kourkoulos (GRE): 1-1
GM Pentala Harikrishna - GM Arseniy Nesterov: 1.5-0.5
GM Iniyan Pa - GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE): 0.5-1.5
GM Karthikeyan Murali - GM Pouya Idani (IRI): 1-1
GM Nikita Vitiugov (ENG) - GM S L Narayanan: 1-1
GM Pranesh M - GM Dmitrij Kollars (GER): 1-1
GM Pranav Venkatesh - GM Aryan Tari (NOR): 1-1
GM Raunak Sadhwani - GM Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM) : 1-1
Round 2 tie-break pairings
GM Temur Kuybokarov (AUS) - GM R Praggnananandhaa
GM Vidit Gujrathi - IM Faustino Oro (ARG)
GM Stamatis-Arditis Kourkoulos (GRE) - GM Nihal Sarin
GM Karthikeyan Murali🇮🇳 - GM Pouya Idani (IRI)
GM Nikita Vitiugov (ENG) - GM S L Narayanan
GM Pranesh M - GM Dmitrij Kollars (GER)
GM Pranav Venkatesh - GM Aryan Tari (NOR)
GM Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM) - GM Raunak Sadhwani
Round 3 pairings
GM D Gukesh - GM Frederik Svane (GER)
GM Pentala Harikrishna - GM Grigoriy Oparin (USA) / GM Daniel Dardha (BEL)
GM Diptayan Ghosh - GM Maxim Rodshtein (ISR) / GM Gabriel Sargissian (ARM)
GM Karthik Venkataraman - GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU) / GM Aydin Suleymanli (AZE)
GM Arjun Erigaisi - GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB) / GM Maksim Chigaev (ESP)
