Arjun inching closer to the FIDE World Cup semi-finals

Warangal: Warangal’s Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi who entered the quarter finals of FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 made another stride towards the semifinals when he defeated the Tamil Nadu Grandmaster Praggnandhaa Ramesh in the first of the two-game classic match in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on Tuesday. Playing with black pieces, Arjun outclassed Praggnandhaa in 53 moves. The second game will be played on Wednesday. In case Praggnandhaa makes a comeback in the second game, the tiebreak will be played on Thursday. On the other hand, another quarter finalist and India’s highest ranked Grandmaster D Gukesh (Tamil Nadu) lost his first game to world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway. The other quarterfinalist from India GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi was in an advantageous position against GM Abasov Nijat of Azerbaijan when the reports last came in. The other quarter final match between GM Caruana Fabiano of US and Leinier Domínguez Pérez of US was also in progress. For the first time, four Indian players have made it to the FIDE world cup quarter finals.