India’s euphoria at having four players in the Fide World Cup chess quarterfinals was tempered a bit on Tuesday when Grandmaster Gukesh D, 17, went down to world No.1 Magnus Carlsen in game one in Baku, Azerbaijan.
However, some Indian presence in the semis is virtually guaranteed. In an all-India clash, GM Arjun Erigaisi won in 53 moves against GM R Praggnanandhaa to take a step towards the semifinal.
Carlsen now just needs one draw to reach the semifinals. Playing with black against Gukesh, Carlsen displayed his endgame prowess, to which the Indian had no answer. Each match consists of two classical games followed by tie-breaks in the event of a 1-1 tie (in classical).
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Erigaisi too triumphed with black against Praggnanandhaa.
In another match, Vidit Gujrathi, the other Indian quarterfinalist, was playing Nijat Abasov, the local favourite.
On Monday, Gujrathi shocked Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi via the tie-breaker.
