FIDE Grand Swiss: Gukesh's Candidates Hopes Dented After Another Defeat; Erigaisi and Vaishali in Contention

Wednesday - 10/09/2025 04:15

World champion D Gukesh suffers defeat in the World Cup Swiss tournament, impacting his chances for Candidates 2026. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi and R Vaishali maintain strong positions, setting up a tense final phase.

World champion D Gukesh suffers defeat in the World Cup Swiss tournament, impacting his chances for Candidates 2026. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi and R Vaishali maintain strong positions, setting up a tense final phase.

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D Gukesh (PTI Photo)

India Today Sports Desk

Samarkand,UPDATED: Sep 10, 2025 12:39 IST

It was another disappointing outing for world champion D Gukesh at the World Cup Swiss tournament as he went down to Greece’s Nikolas Theodorou in the sixth round on Tuesday. Coming off a defeat to the USA’s Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest-ever Grandmaster, Gukesh over-pressed in a drawn rook-and-pawn endgame, only to be punished for his miscalculation.

The setback leaves Gukesh on 50 per cent with three points, meaning the teenager will need at least four wins from his remaining five games to remain in contention.

At the top, Arjun Erigaisi continued to impress, holding sole leader Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran with the black pieces in a queen’s pawn game. The draw ensured Maghsoodloo stayed ahead with five points from six games, but Erigaisi remains within striking distance on 4.5. Sharing second place with him are Mishra, Matthias Bluebaum of Germany, and Nihal Sarin, who capitalised on a tactical blunder from Poland’s Szymon Gumularz.

Meanwhile, R Praggnanandhaa was unable to break down the solid defence of Rauf Mamedov and had to settle for a draw, while Vidit Gujrathi bounced back strongly with a victory over Slovenia’s Anton Demchenko. Among other Indians, P Harikrishna, Raunak Sadhwani, Aditya Mittal, S L Narayanan, Aryan Chopra and Divya Deshmukh all drew their respective encounters.

In the women’s section, R Vaishali continued her sparkling run, defeating Azerbaijan’s Ulviyya Fataliyeva with black to remain in joint lead alongside Kateryna Lagno. The FIDE representative outplayed Germany’s Dinara Wagner in a long-drawn endgame to also reach five points. Vaishali, who converted her extra pawn into a clinical rook-and-pawn win, has shown excellent control across phases of play and looks well-poised to push for a Candidates berth.

Elsewhere, Dronavalli Harika registered a much-needed win over Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, while Vantika Agrawal got the better of Algeria’s Lina Nassr.

With the lone rest day scheduled on Wednesday, players will return for the decisive final rounds from Thursday. The top two finishers in both the men’s and women’s events will secure qualification to the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which determines the next challenger for the world title. The prize pool for the event stands at a massive USD 855,000.