Grandmasters Narayanan SL and Diptayan Ghosh advanced to the second round of the FIDE World Cup 2025 after winning both their rapid games, while Aronyak Ghosh joined them with a composed performance in the second stage of the round-one tiebreaks on Monday.
Playing with the black pieces in his opening game, Narayanan took control by defeating IM Steven Rojas of Peru in 52 moves, before wrapping up the match in just 22 moves with white.
On the adjacent board, Diptayan Ghosh outlasted China’s GM Peng Xiongjian in a 70-move marathon, using his advanced pawns to regain the initiative and promote his queen. He then sealed the tie in 46 moves as his opponent overpressed, earning a second-round clash against GM Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Reflecting on his victory, Narayanan said, “I thought I was a favourite in the tiebreak. In shorter formats, I’m generally strong. When I feel low, I sometimes check with ChatGPT who’s statistically better in tiebreaks — and it said I was the favourite this time too. My opponent played excellently in the classical games, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.”
He added, “I pushed to win with black, and once I did, I felt confident with white.” Narayanan will next face GM Nikita Vitiugov of England.
The FIDE World Cup 2025, featuring 206 players from 82 countries, is a single-elimination knockout event with competitors vying for the prestigious Viswanathan Anand Cup, named in honour of the Indian chess legend.
Six Indians — Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Pranav V, Raunak Sadhwani, Pranesh M, Karthik Venkatraman, and Iniyan Pa — had already reached the second round on Sunday. They will join eight others who received first-round byes for being among the tournament’s top 50 seeds.
India is already guaranteed a third-round berth, with Karthik Venkatraman set to face GM Aravindh Chithambaram in an all-Indian second-round matchup on Tuesday.
On Monday, Indian players impressed in the first phase of the tiebreaks — Aronyak Ghosh, Diptayan Ghosh, and Lalith Babu MR each winning their matches with white, while Narayanan SL triumphed with black.
Aronyak, who had forced a decider by upsetting GM Mateusz Bartel of Poland in the second classical game on Sunday, pinned his opponent’s king and queen to the corner, forcing a resignation after just 19 moves.
Though Rithvik Raja lost his first tiebreak game to Kazybek Nogerbek of Kazakhstan, he bounced back to win the second with black in 52 moves, keeping his chances alive. Aronyak, however, lost his second game, pushing the match to the second stage of rapid play.
In the final phase, Aronyak dominated — winning the first game in 54 moves and then capitalising on Bartel’s mistakes to clinch the second in just 20 moves. He will now meet GM Levon Aronian of the USA in the next round.
