India’s campaign at the FIDE World Cup in Goa ended on a disappointing note with Arjun Erigaisi bowing out in the quarterfinals against China’s Wei Yi on Wednesday. Sealed in the rapid tiebreaks, the defeat thwarted Indian hopes of obtaining a Candidates berth, three of which are on offer here.
With this result, R Praggnanandhaa remains the only Indian likely to feature in the next Candidates Tournament the final battleground that decides the challenger to the reigning World Chess Champion D Gukesh.
How Did the Tiebreaks Slip Away From Arjun Erigaisi?
With the classical games on Monday and Tuesday ending in draws, the quarter-final clash moved to the rapid tiebreaks-a high-pressure format with 15 minutes on each clock, with a 10-second increment per move.
Erigaisi showed great fighting spirit in the first rapid game. With the black pieces, he was lost at one point but fought resourcefully and escaped with an invaluable draw to keep his qualification hopes alive.
The second rapid game told a different tale, though. Pushed into a difficult position from the get-go, Erigaisi struggled to find any meaningful counterplay and fell after 79 grueling moves, thus ending his run in the World Cup.
Another Quarter-Final Exit for Arjun Erigaisi
This was the second consecutive World Cup in which Erigaisi bowed out in the quarterfinals. In 2023, at the same stage, he had been eliminated by Praggnanandhaa, who then went all the way to the final and booked a spot in the Candidates.
A similar heartbreak struck Erigaisi during the 2024 qualification cycle, too, where he missed out on a Candidates berth by the narrowest of margins. This latest exit adds another layer of frustration to his otherwise stellar growth as one of India’s top grandmasters.
What does this mean for India’s candidate hopes?
Only the top three finishers at the World Cup qualify for the Candidates, so Erigaisi’s exit closes the door for any potential additional entries from India. India started the event with a record 24 participants including Gukesh, Divya Deshmukh, Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin and Harikrishna, with Erigaisi’s quarter-final run the last remaining hope.
With Praggnanandhaa already expected to make the Candidates roster, he is now India’s lone representative in this prestigious eight-player event where the challenger to Gukesh will be decided.
