FIDE World Cup: Arjun Erigaisi Shows Peter Leko Exit Door, Harikrishna Ousts Nils Grandelius In Round Four

Last Updated:November 13, 2025, 18:58 IST

Erigaisi produced a strong showing to get the better of Hungarian Leko, while Harikrishna edged out Swede Grandelius in the fourth round tie-breaker to advance.

Arjun Erigaisi. (MGD1)

Indian GMs Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna had a successful day, eliminating veteran players Peter Leko of Hungary and Nils Grandelius of Sweden in the fourth-round tiebreaker on Thursday.

Arjun defeated Leko 3-1 in the first set of the tiebreaker, while Harikrishna drew the first game and won the second, achieving an overall 2.5-1.5 victory to advance to the round of 16.

Meanwhile, R Praggnanandhaa could not keep up and lost to Russia’s Daniil Dubov, marking his exit from this year’s World Cup.

It is worth noting that in the previous edition held in 2023, Praggnanandhaa reached the finals before losing to the eventual winner, Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

Arjun faces a crucial next round as he will compete against the in-form Levon Aronian of the United States. Aronian, who has been performing well, is the only player in history to have won the World Cup twice.

German Frederic Svane continued his impressive run by defeating Shant Sargsyan of Armenia 2.5-1.5. Svane, who had earlier defeated world champion D Gukesh, did not disappoint his fans and secured another significant victory to remain in contention for a berth in the Candidates.

A major upset occurred when Aleksey Grebnev defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France 2.5-1.5. Vachier-Lagrave’s exit could make the road ahead easier for the remaining two Indian players if they manage to clear the next hurdle.

Arjun played a solid game with the black pieces, capitalising on Leko’s ambitious and unwarranted complications. Arjun secured a pawn, and the subsequent rook and minor piece endgame was easy for him. Leko lost the second game when he attempted to push hard to level the scores. Arjun achieved a favourable position with his well-placed pieces out of a Nimzo Indian defence and concluded the game in style.

Harikrishna demonstrated his class once again. Having won two matches under standard time control, this was the first time he was stretched to a tiebreaker in the event, where he outplayed Grandelius in the second game under the 15-minute rapid section.

Praggnanandhaa did not get the complexities in his favour as Dubov is known for his expertise in faster time controls. After a draw in the first game where Dubov played it safe as white, the onus was on Praggnanandhaa to showcase his preparation with white pieces. However, Praggnanandhaa ran out of time when he needed it most, losing a pawn and a rook for a minor piece, ending his campaign in the knockout event.

News sports FIDE World Cup: Arjun Erigaisi Shows Peter Leko Exit Door, Harikrishna Ousts Nils Grandelius In Round Four

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