FIDE World Cup 2025: A Day of Calculated Draws in Goa
The fifth round of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 commenced with a cautious and strategic start in Goa, as seven out of the eight Round of 16 matches concluded without a decisive result. This marked a significant shift from the high-drama tiebreaks of the previous round, which saw the shocking eliminations of top contenders like R. Praggnanandhaa and Vincent Keymer.
Contrasting Strategies for Indian Contenders
The two remaining Indian hopes in the tournament, Arjun Erigaisi and Pentala Harikrishna, navigated their first games in the round of 16 with different approaches, yet both ultimately settled for draws.
Veteran Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna, playing with the black pieces, engaged in a relatively swift and uneventful game against Mexico's Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara. The duo blitzed through their opening and middle game, showing a clear mutual understanding to test their skills in the endgame. However, the resulting rook endgame provided little scope for either player to press for a victory. The game was the first to finish, concluding in 41 moves with both players still possessing a considerable amount of time on their clocks.
In a starkly different battle, the highest-seeded player left in the competition, Arjun Erigaisi, took the fight to Armenian-American legend Levon Aronian. Playing with the white pieces, Arjun demonstrated aggressive intent, trying to create opportunities with his light pieces and pushing the two-time World Cup winner to the brink. However, the experienced Aronian, who is eyeing a remarkable seventh Candidates qualification, was impeccably prepared for Arjun's Queen's Gambit Declined. He calmly neutralized all of Arjun's initiatives, leading to a draw being mutually agreed upon after 41 moves, also in a rook endgame.
Sindarov Claims the Sole Victory
While draws dominated the day, there was one decisive result that broke the monotony. On the top board, Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov managed to outplay Germany's Frederik Svane, securing a full point and taking a crucial lead in their two-game match. This victory makes Sindarov the sole player to emerge from the first set of round of 16 games with an advantage.
All eyes are now on the second game scheduled for Saturday. Levon Aronian will have the white pieces against Arjun Erigaisi, giving the veteran a slight edge. Harikrishna, on the other hand, will have the white pieces against Martinez Alcantara as he looks to advance to the next round. The pressure is on for the Indian Grandmasters to deliver decisive results in their return games.
