Esports World Cup Chess: Nihal Sarin, Arjun Erigaisi advance to quarters
Nihal joined Arjun in the quarterfinals after two consecutive match wins in the loser's bracket playoffs.
Arjun Erigaisi (Photo credit: Freestyle Chess)
Indian stars GM Arjun Erigaisi and GM Nihal Sarin advanced to the quarterfinals of the chess program at the 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.
Arjun booked his spot in the quarterfinal with two comfortable match wins in the winners' bracket against Nihal Sarin (2-0) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2-1) on the first day of the competition.
Nihal, after losing the winners' bracket match to Arjun, bounced back strongly on day 2 to beat Anisha Giri (2-0) and Maxime (1.5-0.5) in the losers' bracket to confirm his spot in the last eight.
In the last match of the loser's bracket, Nihal started strongly and played out a draw with the black pieces against Maxime, and then registered a win in a topsy-turvy second game with the white pieces.
The quarterfinals will take place on Thursday, with Nihal Sarin taking on top-seeded Magnus Carlsen of Norway, and Arjun Erigaisi competing against the Russian player Ian Nepomniachtchi.
The semi-final matches of this first-ever chess tournament at the Esports World Cup will also be taking place on the same day.
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