Aronyak Ghosh upsets GM Bartel to force a tiebreak
Indian GM Raunak Sadhwani advanced after defeating FM Daniel Barrish of South Africa.
PANAJI
Senior Indian campaigner Surya Shekhar Ganguly, along with GMs Raunak Sadhwani and Karthik Venkataraman, notched comfortable wins to progress to the second round of the FIDE World Cup 2025 on Sunday.
Meanwhile, IM Aronyak Ghosh forced a tie-breaker after defeating GM Mateusz Bartel of Poland in his second game.
The 42-year-old Ganguly became the first Indian to enter the second round after clinching a 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan’s Ahmad Ahmadzada. Playing black, the veteran capitalised on his opponent’s risky play, launching a strong kingside attack that forced resignation after just 28 moves. He now faces French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the next round.
Karthik Venkataraman, who drew his opening game against Cuba’s GM Roberto Garcia Pantoja, dominated the second encounter to win in 39 moves and set up an all-Indian second-round clash with GM Aravindh Chithambaram.
Raunak Sadhwani also advanced after defeating FM Daniel Barrish of South Africa. The 19-year-old from Nagpur, who had drawn the first game despite several errors, made no mistake on Sunday, sealing victory with the black pieces in 39 moves.
M Pranesh, meanwhile, played a cautious game against Kazakhstan’s IM Satbek Akhmedinov, opting for a draw after 36 moves in a rook-and-pawn endgame to complete a 1.5–0.5 series win.
Among other results, IM Aronyak Ghosh bounced back from his first-game loss to GM Mateusz Bartel by producing a strong middle-game performance and converting his advantage in 41 moves to stay alive in the competition.
Leon, Divya exit
Goan GM Leon Mendonca, playing with black in the reverse must-win fixture, was outplayed by his lower-rated Chinese rival Shixu B Wang. 19-year-old Mendonca (Elo 2620), playing in his first Chess World Cup, was ousted by the unfancied Chinese opponent with a FIDE rating 218 points lower than the Goan, with a clear 2-0 outcome in the 2-game classical preliminary round.
Four other Indians — GM Raja Rithvik R, GM Diptayan Ghosh, GM Lalit Babu MR, and GM Narayanan SL — will have to battle through the rapid tie-breakers after drawing their respective two-game matches.
However, it was the end of the road for 19-year-old wild card entrant Divya Deshmukh, who went down 0-2 to Greek GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis. The reigning Women’s World Cup champion fought hard in a marathon 73-move encounter but was eventually outplayed in the endgame.
The FIDE World Cup 2025, featuring 206 players from 82 nations, is a single-elimination knockout event, with participants vying for the prestigious Viswanathan Anand Cup.
Indian results
(Round 1, Game 2): GM Pranav V bt Ala Eddine Boulrens (ALG) 2-0, GM Raunak Sadhwani bt FM Daniel Barrish (RSA) 1.5-0.5, M Pranesh bt IM Satbek Akhmedinov (KAZ) 1.5-0.5, GM Karthik Venkataraman bt GM Roberto Garcia Pantoja (CUB) 1.5-0.5, GM Diptayan Ghosh drew with GM Peng Xiongjian (CHN) 1-1, GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly bt GM Ahmad Ahmadzada (AZE) 2-0, GM Iniyan Panneerselvam bt GM Dylan Berdayes (CUB) 1.5-0.5, GM Raja Rithvik R drew with Kazybek Nogerbek (KAZ) 1-1, IM Aronyak Ghosh drew with GM Mateusz Bartel (POL) 1-1, GM Lalit Babu MR drew with GM Max Warmerdam (NED) 1-1, GM Narayanan SL drew with IM Steven Rojas (PER) 1-1, IM Himal Gusain lost to GM Andy Woodward (USA) 0-2, IM Harshavardhan GB lost to GM Mustafa Yilmaz (TUR) 0.5-1.5, IM Neelash Saha lost to GM Georg Meier (URU) 0.5-1.5, GM Leon Luke Mendonca lost to IM Shixu B Wang (CHN) 0.5-1.5, GM Divya Deshmukh lost to GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (GRE) 0-2
