Gujrathi leads four Indians in quarters of World Cup

BAKU: Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi upset Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi via the tie-breaker to reach the quarterfinals of the FIDE Chess World Cup. He joins three other Indians— D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi — in the quarter-finals, a first ever for the country.

Gujrathi played aggressively with the white pieces as he put a lot of pressure on Nepomniachtchi. He finally prevailed over Nepomniachtchi 2-0 in the 10-minute rapid segment of the tie-break to qualify for the quarterfinals for a second time.

Previously. Gujrathi and Nepomniachtchi had drawn the two-game classical match and the two tie-break games. He will meet Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan in the quarterfinals.

Asked about four Indians featuring in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, Gujrathi said, “We are doing very well, what can I say! Everybody is showing very high level of play,” he said.