Chess World Cup: Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, Iniyan enter second round
(Sourced from PTI)
India's young stars R Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, and P Iniyan advanced to the second round of the men's event in the FIDE World Cup chess tournament in Russia on Tuesday. Teen prodigy and Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa outwitted Paulo Bersamina (the Philippines) 1.5-0.5 with a draw in the second game after having won the opening game of the two-game mini-match on Monday.
The 15-year old Chennai lad will take on the Armenian Chess Grandmaster Gabriel Sargissian in the second round. Birthday boy Nihal Sarin drew the second game against IM Arthur Ssegwanyi of Uganda to secure a 1.5-0.5 win in the first round. The Indian will now take on Sanan Sjugirov of Russia in the second round.
Iniyan overcame the challenge of higher-rated Swiss player Sebastian Bogner 1.5-0.5 to secure a spot in round two, where he will meet Evgeny Tomashevsky. Also advancing were GM Aravindh Chithambaram VR, a 2-0 winner over Michael Concio Jr., and the experienced B Adhiban who beat Malawi's Chilesto Chipanga. The winners join Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and P Harikrishna, who received first-round byes, in round two.
Talented, young GM D Gukesh, whose two-game mini-match against Poland's Pawel Teclaf ended in a 1-1 draw, will play in a tie-breaker on Wednesday to determine the winner. Meanwhile, in the women's event, Padmini Rout and R Vaishali joined compatriot Bhakti Kulkarni in the second round. While Rout outplayed Azerbaijan's Ulviyya Fatsaliyeva, Vaishali defeated Zhou Qiyu (Canada). Both won by 2-0 margins.
Rout will meet Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, while Vaishali, sister of Praggnanandhaa, runs into Bela Khotenashvili (Georgia) in round two. Kulkarni had got a walkover from Russian opponent Anastasya Paramzina on Monday. D Harika will be joining them in the second round, courtesy of a bye in the first round. Matches in the FIDE World Cup are being played in the classical format.
