FIDE World Cup: Arjun, Pragg, Harikrishna Eye Continued Success as Round 4 Begins
Panjim: After the first rest day, India’s top Grandmasters — Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, and P Harikrishna — are set to resume their campaigns in the fourth round of the FIDE World Cup, looking to extend their impressive runs.
Arjun, India’s highest-rated player, enters as the favourite against Hungarian veteran Peter Leko, while Praggnanandhaa faces the creative and unpredictable Daniil Dubov (playing under the FIDE flag). Harikrishna, the most seasoned of the trio, meets Nils Grandelius of Sweden, aiming to strengthen his position in the competition.
Leko, a world-class force two decades ago, has shown glimpses of his prime form, defeating Bobby Cheng (Australia) and Kiriil Alekseenko (Austria) without needing tiebreaks. However, he will face a stern challenge from Arjun, known for thriving in complex positions. Interestingly, the 46-year-old’s protégé, Vincent Keymer of Germany, has also reached round four, marking a rare instance of a mentor and student progressing together in a knockout event.
Arjun has dominated his matches so far, winning three of his four classical games and eliminating Martin Petrov (Bulgaria) and Shamsiddin Vokhidov (Uzbekistan) en route.
Crowd favourite Praggnanandhaa takes on Dubov, a noted opening theoretician and formidable rapid player. Dubov survived two long tiebreaks against Bai Jinshi (China) and Georg Meier (Uruguay), showcasing speed and precision. Pragg, too, endured early drama, narrowly surviving a second-round tiebreak against Temur Kuybokarov (Uzbekistan/Australia) before ousting Robert Hovhannisyan (Armenia) in round three.
Harikrishna, meanwhile, advanced smoothly with convincing wins over Arseniy Nesterov (Russia) and Daniel Dardha (Belgium). Sticking to his reliable formula of winning with white and drawing with black, he will rely on his vast experience to overcome Grandelius.
India’s emerging talents — World Junior Champion V Pranav and 109th seed Venkatraman Karthik — have also impressed by reaching the fourth round after three strong matches each. Arjun, Praggnanandhaa, and Harikrishna were seeded directly into round two.
Pranav defeated Ada Eddine Boulrens (Algeria) and Aryan Tari (Norway) before stunning Titas Stremavicius (Lithuania) in the first game of round three, sealing the tie with a comfortable draw. Karthik, who has beaten Aravindh Chithambaram and Deac Bogdan Daniel, now faces a major test against Le Quang Liem (Vietnam).
Elsewhere, Vincent Keymer meets Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran), while Levon Aronian (USA) faces Radoslav Wojtaszek (Poland) in one of the round’s key clashes.
Round 4 Pairings (Indians unless stated):
Frederic Svane (GER) vs Shant Sargysyan (ARM);
Peter Leko (HUN) vs Arjun Erigaisi;
R Praggnanandhaa vs Daniil Dubov (FID);
Matthias Bluebaum (GER) vs Alexander Domchenko (GER);
V Pranav vs Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB);
Andrey Esipenko (FID) vs Vincent Keymer (GER);
Wei Yi (CHN) vs Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI);
Alexey Sarana (FID) vs Jose Eduardo Martinez Alacantra (MEX);
Nils Grandelius (SWE) vs P Harikrishna;
Samuel Sevian (USA) vs Lorenzo Lodici (ITA);
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) vs Aleksy Grebnev (FID);
Awonder Liang (USA) vs Gabriel Sargissian (ARM);
Le Quang Liem (VIE) vs V Karthik;
Sam Shankland (USA) vs Richard Rapport (HUN);
Levon Aronian (USA) vs Radoslav Wojtaszek (POL);
Yu Yangyi (CHN) vs Javokhir Sindarov (UZB).
