World Cup 2025 R2 TB: Praggnanandhaa barely escapes elimination, joins Vidit, Narayanan, Pranesh and Pranav
R Praggnanandhaa was on the verge of elimination against Temur Kuybokarov (AUS) in FIDE World Cup 2025 Round 2 tie-breaks. The Australia no.2 must be regretting missing out on such a huge opportunity to knock out the World no.7. Vidit Gujrathi, S L Narayanan, Pranesh M and Pranav Venkatesh also won their respective games to advance to Round 3. Nihal Sarin, Karthikeyan Murali and Raunak Sadhwani got eliminated by losing their tie-break games. Vidit drew the first game and then won the next against IM Faustino Oro (ARG). Narayananan drew four before winning both 5'+3" Blitzgames. Pranesh won both 15'+10" Rapid games. Pranav won the first Rapid game and drew the next. Total of ten Indians will battle in the third round. Round 3 Game 1 starts today from 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Nihal, Karthikeyan and Raunak get eliminated
Nihal Sarin, Karthikeyan Murali and Raunak Sadhwani are the three Indians who got eliminated in the tie-breaks. Both Nihal and Raunak got knocked out without winning a single game. Karthikeyan lost the first game but then he could not keep up the momentum. You can visit the venue and watch the games live in person. Check the buy tickets link at the end of the article for all details.
Praggnanandhaa - Kuybokarov: 5-3
GM R Praggnanandhaa had a quiet draw in the first 15'+10" Rapid tie-break game. In the second game, he made a desperate sacrifice against GM Temur Kuybokarov (AUS).
Praggnanandhaa - Kuybokarov, Game 4
17.Nxf5? was a desperate sacrifice gxf5 18.Qh5+ Kd8 19.Rxf5 Nd4 20.Rf4 White kept fighting in a lost position.
Almost anything here was winning 38...Nd7! or Kxg8 even, Qf7 and Bf7 too. Unfortunately, he chose 38...Nf7?? and allowed his opponent to escape with a draw 39.Qg3+ Kf8 40.Qb8+ Kg7 41.Qg3+ Kf8 42.Qb8+ Kg7 and the game ended in a draw.
In the first 10'+10" game, Praggnanandhaa blundered an exchange and Kuybokarov seized his opportunity to win the game.
Praggnanandhaa bounced back in the second 10'+10" game to stay in the event.
Praggnanandhaa won both 5'+3" games to win the match and set up a clash against GM Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM) in Round 3.
Replay Kuybokarov - Praggnanandhaa tie-break games
Vidit - Oro: 2.5-1.5
GM Vidit Gujrathi drew the first 15'+10" Rapid tie-break against IM Faustino Oro (ARG). Vidit won the second 15'+10" Rapid game to advance to the third round where he will face GM Sam Shankland (USA).
Oro - Vidit, Game 4
White had to play 34.a3 and prevent Black from creating a passed pawn comfortably. 34.Be2? b4 35.cxb4 cxb4 36.Nf3 Rc8 37.Rb1 b3-+ and it is virtually over now.
Stamatis - Nihal: 2.5-1.5
GM Nihal Sarin arrived at a lost position in the first 17 moves of the game against GM Stamatis Arditis-Kourkoulos (GRE). He managed to wriggle out of trouble and equalize. However, soon his ambitious play did not pan out and he lost.
In the second game, Nihal had a small chance to gain upper hand. However, it was not easy and eventually he had to battle to draw the game. Thus, he got eliminated and his opponent advanced to Round 3. Stamatis will face GM Aleksey Grebnev next.
Pouya - Karthikeyan: 4.5-3.5
GM Karthikeyan Murali started the tie-breaks with a win in the first 15'+10" tie-break game. Then he lost the next one. Both 10'+10" Rapid tie-break games ended in draws. The first 5'+3" Blitz tie-break also ended in a draw. GM Pouya Idani (IRI) won the second 5'+3" Blitz tie-break game to win the match and set up a clash against GM Andrey Esipenko.
Replay all Pouya - Karthikeyan tie-break games
S L Narayanan - Vitiugov: 5-3
GM S L Narayanan drew both 15'+10" and 10'+10" Rapid games against GM Nikita Vitiugov (ENG). Then Narayanan won both 5'+3" Blitz games to win the match and advance to the third round against GM Yangyi Yu (CHN).
Kollars - Pranesh: 1-3
GM Pranesh M won both 15'+10" Rapid games against GM Dmitrij Kollars (GER). The German made a one-move blunder in an already losing position. In the second game, Kollars missed his opportunity and Pranesh did not present him another one. Pranesh will face the World no.4, GM Vincent Keymer (GER) in the next round.
Tari - Pranav: 1.5-2.5
GM Pranav Venkatesh won the first 15'+10" Rapid tie-break game against GM Aryan Tari (NOR) after the latter misplayed in the double rook and bishop endgame. Pranav drew the second game to win the match and secure his place in the next round where he will face GM Titas Stremavicius (LTU).
Hovhannisyan - Raunak: 3-1
GM Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM) crushed GM Raunak Sadhwani in both 15'+10" Rapid tie-break games. In the first game, Raunak attempted to launch a counter-attack but it did not work. In the second game, he lost with zero resistance in a 17-move miniature. Hovhannisyan will face Praggnanandhaa in Round 3.
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Scores after Round 2 tie-breaks
GM Temur Kuybokarov (AUS) - GM R Praggnananandhaa: 5-3
GM Vidit Gujrathi - IM Faustino Oro (ARG): 2.5-1.5
GM Stamatis-Arditis Kourkoulos (GRE) - GM Nihal Sarin: 2.5-1.5
GM Pouya Idani (IRI) - GM Karthikeyan Murali: 4.5-3.5
GM S L Narayanan - GM Nikita Vitiugov (GER): 5-3
GM Dmitrij Kollars (GER) - GM Pranesh M: 1-3
GM Aryan Tari (NOR) - GM Pranav Venkatesh: 1.5-2.5
GM Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM) - GM Raunak Sadhwani: 3-1
Round 3 pairings
GM Frederik Svane (GER) - GM D Gukesh
GM Arjun Erigaisi🇮🇳 - GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB)
GM Robert Hovhannisyan - GM R Praggnananandhaa
GM Pranav Venkatesh - GM Titas Stremavicius (LTU)
GM Vincent Keymer (GER) - GM Pranesh M
GM Diptayan Ghosh - GM Gabriel Sargissian (ARM)
GM S L Narayanan - GM Yangyi Yu (CHN)
GM Sam Shankland (USA) - GM Vidit Gujrathi
GM Karthik Venkataraman - GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU)
GM Pentala Harikrishna - GM Daniel Dardha (BEL)
