"An early cull of the favourites at the Chess World Cup in Goa has resulted in 15 of the top 20 seeds heading for home early. It has also created a lopsided pairing situation where almost all the remaining favourites are concentrated in one half of the draw. The two surviving top seeds, India's world No 5 Arjun Erigaisi and China's No 10-ranked Wei Yi, could meet in the quarter-finals,"
"Aronian introduced a subtle wrinkle on move three (!) against Radoslaw Wojtaszek: 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 a3!? The point is that after 3...d5 4 cxd5 Nxd5 (which the Polish world No 57 played) White has 5 Qh5!"
An early cull at the Chess World Cup in Goa eliminated 15 of the top 20 seeds, producing multiple high-profile exits. Remaining favourites are concentrated in one half of the draw, increasing the likelihood of early marquee clashes. India's world No 5 Arjun Erigaisi and China's No 10 Wei Yi are the only surviving top seeds and could meet in the quarter-finals. Levon Aronian, a two-time World Cup winner, faces Erigaisi in a headline fifth-round match. Several notable players exited early, including Gukesh Dommaraju, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hans Niemann. At least one World Cup qualifier for the 2026 Candidates will be an unfamiliar name.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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