Quarterfinal Thriller Loading: Arjun Erigaisi, Wei Yi Set To Play Tiebreaks At FIDE World Cup

Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi will have to settle things the dramatic way.

The Indian No. 1 was held to another solid but uneventful draw by China’s Wei Yi on Tuesday, pushing their World Cup quarterfinal match into the tiebreaks.

After a bloodless opener, Arjun was the one caught off guard this time. Wei Yi surprised him in the Queen’s Gambit Declined, took early control of the structure, and never really let the position slip. With minor pieces traded off and neither side willing to overpress, the players shook hands after 32 moves, acknowledging the inevitable: this one was heading to rapid chess.

While Arjun and Wei Yi stayed locked in neutral, one man didn’t need a tiebreak at all — Nodirbek Yakubboev.

Nodirbek Seals Semifinal Spot

The Uzbek star,

who stunned Alexander Donchenko in Game 1, calmly held a draw with Black to take the match 1.5–0.5, becoming the first player into the semifinals. Donchenko tried to squeeze something out of a rook-and-pawns ending, but Yakubboev’s counterplay was airtight.

Elsewhere, the script stayed the same across the boards. Javokhir Sindarov and Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara drew again — a tiebreak bound. Sam Shankland and Andrey Esipenko also split the point for a second straight day — another tiebreak incoming.

So as things stand: three quarterfinals, three tiebreaks, and one Uzbek already cruising in the semis.

Quarterfinal Results (Classical):

• Sindarov (UZB) 1–1 Martinez (MEX) — to tiebreak
• Wei Yi (CHN) 1–1 Arjun Erigaisi (IND) — to tiebreak
• Shankland (USA) 1–1 Esipenko (FIDE) — to tiebreak
• Yakubboev (UZB) 1.5–0.5 Donchenko (GER) — Yakubboev advances

(with PTI inputs)