Esports World Cup 2025: Arjun Erigaisi progresses to quarterfinals
Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi booked his spot in the quarterfinals of the chess event at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.
Erigaisi (Group B), along with other group winners – Levon Aronian (Group A), Alireza Firouzja (Group C) and Magnus Carlsen (Group D) – progressed to the last-eight stage of the 16-player event which has a prize money of USD 1.5 million.
Four winners from the Losers Bracket will take the remaining spots in the quarterfinals. Group A has Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vladislav Artemiev, and Andrey Esipenko. Group B comprises Anish Giri, Nihal Sarin, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Group C features Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, and Hikaru Nakamura while Group D has Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Fabiano Caruana, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.
The time control for all games is 10 minutes with no increment and every fixture is a two-game match (with a possible armageddon tiebreak).
Erigaisi began his campaign with a 2-0 win over compatriot Sarin. In the other match, Vachier-Lagrave defeated Anish Giri with a 1.5-0.5 scoreline.
In the match to decide the group winner, Erigaisi won the opening game with black pieces before Frenchman Vachier-Lagrave bounced back to clinch the second and took it to armageddon. However, the Indian won the armageddon with white to seal the victory.
Sarin will face Giri in the semifinals of the Losers Bracket with the winner set to take on Vachier-Lagrave for a place in the quarterfinals.