Arjun Erigasi’s Draw Against Wei Yi
Grandmaster Arjun Erigasi faced a challenging match against GM Wei Yi in the quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup 2025, ultimately resulting in a draw. After a quick draw with black pieces on Monday, Arjun aimed for victory with white. He appeared to have the upper hand during the middle game, as indicated by FIDE’s analysis. Although chess engines recommended a bishop sacrifice to capitalize on his advantage, Arjun opted for a more cautious queen move to d2. Wei Yi managed to defend effectively, leading to a stalemate. The tiebreak will commence on Wednesday, with Arjun starting with the black pieces, making him a strong contender in the rapid format.
Other Quarterfinals Also Proceed to Tiebreaks
In addition to Arjun’s match, two other quarterfinals will also go to tiebreaks. GM Andrey Esipenko and GM Sam Shankland ended their game in a draw after 37 moves. Meanwhile, the encounter between GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara and GM Javokhir Sindarov concluded swiftly, with a draw after just 25 moves, lasting only 18 minutes.
Nodirbek Yakubboev Advances to Semifinals
Uzbekistan’s GM Nodirbek Yakubboev emerged as the sole player to secure a spot in the semifinals after drawing his second game against GM Alexander Donchenko from Germany in 57 moves. Yakubboev had previously won the first game with white pieces. Here are the results from the quarterfinals: GM Andrey Esipenko drew with GM Sam Shankland (1:1 aggregate), GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara vs GM Javokhir Sindarov (1:1 aggregate), GM Arjun Erigaisi drew with GM Wei Yi (1:1 aggregate), and GM Alexander Donchenko lost to GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (0.5:1.5 aggregate).
