FIDE World Cup 2025: India’s Narayanan, Diptayan, Aronyak progress to second round

GM Narayanan SL, GM Diptayan Ghosh, and GM Aronyak Ghosh secured their places in the second round of the 2025 FIDE World Cup after decisive victories in their rapid tiebreak matches. The event saw intense competition on Monday (November 3), with each player showing resilience to secure advancement. Narayanan, playing as black in the first rapid game, outplayed IM Steven Rojas from Peru, claiming victory in 52 moves. He followed up with a dominant 22-move win as white to close the match. Reflecting on his success, Narayanan said, “I was confident in tiebreak format. I’m generally strong in faster formats, and even ChatGPT thought I was the favorite. Despite my opponent's strong performance in the classical games, I felt in control once I won with black and was assured of success with white.” Narayanan now faces GM Nikita Vitiugov from England in second round.

On an adjacent board, Diptayan Ghosh endured a 70-move battle with GM Peng Xiongjian of China in the first game. He positioned his pawns to advance and revive his queen for a win, and then clinched the second game in 46 moves. Diptayan’s victory sets up a challenging encounter with GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the next round. Aronyak Ghosh, who had previously upset Polish GM Mateusz Bartel in the second classical game, continued his excellent form in the tiebreak. He beat Bartel in just 19 moves in the first game and then sealed his place in Round 2 by winning the second game in only 20 moves. Aronyak will now take on GM Levon Aronian of the USA.

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In other notable matches, Indian players such as Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Pranav V, and Raunak Sadhwani secured spots in Round 2 ahead of Monday’s rapid tiebreaks. Aronyak, Diptayan, and Narayanan all contributed to India's impressive showing in the tournament. Karthik Venkatraman, one of the other Indians in the competition, will face GM Aravindh Chithambaram in the second round on Tuesday. Rithvik, the only Indian to lose in the first game of the tiebreak, bounced back with a victory in the second game to stay alive in the tournament. As the FIDE World Cup 2025 progresses, India's chances are looking strong, with multiple players advancing through tough rounds.

Indian results (Round 1, 1st Tie break):

GM Diptayan Ghosh bt GM Peng Xiongjian (CHN) 2:0 (aggregate 3:1); GM Narayanan SL bt IM Steven Rojas (Per) 2:0 (aggregate 3:1); GM Raja Rithvik R drew with Kazybek Nogerbek (Kaz) 1:1 (aggregate 2:2); IM Aronyak Ghosh drew with GM Mateusz Bartel (Pol) 1:1 (aggregate 2:2); GM Lalit Babu MR drew with GM Max Warmerdam (Ned) 1:1 (aggregate 2:2)

(Round 1, 2nd Tiebreak): IM Aronyak Ghosh bt GM Mateusz Bartel (Pol) 2:0 (aggregate 4:2); GM Lalit Babu MR drew with GM Max Warmerdam (Ned) 1:1 (aggregate 3:3) and GM Raja Rithvik R drew with Kazybek Nogerbek (Kaz) 1:1 (aggregate3:3)