FIDE World Cup 2025: Vidit Gujrathi Ends 12-Year-Old Faustino Oro's Dream Run, Praggnanandhaa Escapes; Results From Round 2

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Panaji, Nov 6: India's grandmasters continued to shine at the FIDE World Cup 2025 as Vidit Gujrathi, Pranav V, Pranesh M, and R Praggnanandhaa advanced to the third round following an exhilarating day of tiebreaks and rapid games on Thursday (November 6) in Panaji.

Indian No. 3 Vidit Gujrathi finally cracked the defence of 12-year-old Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro, winning the second rapid game in 52 moves with the black pieces after two tightly contested classical draws.

"The way young players play chess now is very different because they've grown up with computers. He's special - at 12, he plays like a seasoned player," Vidit said after sealing his place in Round 3.

Having been under pressure in the classical games, Vidit relied on his experience and composure to edge past Oro with an aggregate score of 2.5-1.5. He will now face USA's Sam Shankland, who eliminated veteran Vasyl Ivanchuk in the second round.

Pranav, Pranesh and Praggnanandhaa impress

World junior champion Pranav V bounced back from his loss in the second classical game to defeat Aryan Tari of Norway in the first rapid game and then held him to a draw to secure his spot in Round 3. "I just tried to play my game and not think about the earlier two games," Pranav said, crediting his preparation and calm mindset for the victory.

Pranav will face Titas Stremavicius of Lithuania, who earlier stunned Wesley So. Pranesh M overcame Germany's Dmitrij Kollars by seizing the advantage on move 24 in the second rapid game and converting his edge to win in 48 moves. He will meet German GM Vincent Keymer in the third round.

Praggnanandhaa's great escape

In one of the day's most dramatic matches, R Praggnanandhaa staged a remarkable comeback against Temur Kuybokarov. After drawing the initial games, Praggnanandhaa lost the third rapid game and faced elimination, but he recovered with a fourth-game win with the black pieces and then dominated both blitz games to progress 5-3 on aggregate.

The Chennai GM once again demonstrated why he is among the toughest competitors on the world circuit, showing resilience and nerves of steel in the shorter formats.

SL Narayanan joins the party

SL Narayanan also advanced to Round 3 after prevailing over Nikita Vitiugov in the blitz tiebreaks. Both players had drawn their earlier encounters, but Narayanan prevailed in the decisive faster time controls to win 5-3.

Niemann knocked out

In a major upset, 10th seed Hans Niemann crashed out after losing a marathon 77-move rapid game to Lorenzo Lodici of Italy. Both had drawn the classical games, but Lodici's persistence in the rapid proved decisive.

India Results (Round 2, Tiebreaks)