FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 Round 4 Tiebreaks Highlights: Following the eliminations of Pranav V and Karthik Venkataraman in Round 4, R. Praggnanandhaa became the 22nd Indian to be knocked out of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 in Goa, leaving just two Indian players in the title race.
Arjun Erigaisi beat Peter Leko, while Pentala Harikrishna went past Nils Grandelius to reach Round 5 on Thursday at Resort Rio Convention Centre.
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Earier, Pranav Venkatesh was handed a defeat by Uzbekistan prodigy Nodirbek Yakubboev in 38 moves with black pieces, while Karthik lost to Vietnam’s Le Quang Leim in Game 2.
José Eduardo Martínez Alcántara, Levon Aronian, Alexander Donchenko, Le Quan Liem and Nodirbek Yakubboev have already qualified for the next round, while 11 boards and 22 players will fight it out via tiebreaks.
An unprecedented 24 Indian players entered the FIDE World Cup, but over four rounds, 21 have been eliminated. The first round saw seven Indian players knocked out, followed by another seven in the second round. The third round witnessed the exit of five more, including top seed D. Gukesh and former Candidates player Vidit Gujrathi.
The top three finishers in the 2025 World Cup will secure a place in the 2026 Candidates Tournament in Cyprus. The winner of that event will earn the right to challenge the reigning World Champion.
SCROLL PAST THE INTERACTIVE BOARDS AND THE LIVE STREAM VIDEOS TO FOLLOW OUR UPDATES IN REAL-TIME FROM THE FIDE WORLD CUP’S ROUND 4 TIEBREAKS
INTERACTIVE: Arjun Erigaisi vs Peter Leko (HUN) 2nd Rapid Game
INTERACTIVE: R Praggnanandhaa vs Daniil Dubov (RUS) 2nd Rapid Game
INTERACTIVE: Harikrishna Pentala vs Nils Grandelius (SWE) 1st Rapid Game
FIDE World Cup: Undeterred by Vladimir Kramnik’s cheating allegations, José Eduardo Martínez Alcántara making a big impact in Goa
José Eduardo Martínez Alcántara played Vladimir Kramnik in Clash of Blames event. (Photo: World Chess)
The odds were always stacked against Martínez Alcántara. A win would only have proved that his current form was better than Kramnik’s, but the shadow of doubt would linger regardless. A loss, however, would have severely hurt his reputation. Yet, he chose to withstand an opponent whose obsession with “cheating in chess” has put the sport in a crisis.
Moving forward, Martínez Alcántara chose the simplest path: to grind his way up in both online and OTB chess, and is reaping the rewards. At the ongoing FIDE Chess World Cup in Goa, he has impressed with his serene progress.
