The Chess World Cup 2025, held at Resort Rio in Goa, concluded with Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov triumphing over China’s Wei Yi. But for India, the tournament was nothing short of a disaster, the Hindustan Times reported.
Despite fielding one of the strongest home contingents in event history, no Indian reached the semi-finals, a devastating outcome for a nation that dominated headlines just two years ago.
The country’s brightest hope, Arjun Erigaisi, was the only Indian to advance smoothly into the quarter-finals. But a missed opportunity in his second classical game against Wei cost him dearly.
Forced into tie-breaks, Arjun overpressed in a critical rapid position and was eventually checkmated, ending India’s campaign.
His exit also shut the door on a Candidates 2026 berth, leaving him heartbroken – his lone reaction on X was a single emoji.
Arjun’s defeat is particularly painful because he needed a top-three finish in Goa to qualify for the Candidates, the only path to challenging world champion Gukesh Dommaraju for the title next year.
The home roster boasted elite names: world champion Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Aravindh Chithambaram, Nihal Sarin, and Pentala Harikrishna. Yet only two made the last 16, and just Arjun reached the final eight.
Gukesh, the tournament’s top seed, suffered a shock third-round exit, while Praggnanandhaa lost to Russia’s Daniil Dubov after an unconvincing run.
A few bright spots emerged – World Junior Champion V. Pranav reached the fourth round, and Diptayan Ghosh stunned Russian Grand Master Ian Nepomniachtchi in a dramatic upset – but they were exceptions in an otherwise underwhelming performance.
The disappointment is amplified by the success of India’s women earlier this year. Divya Deshmukh won the Women’s World Cup, Koneru Humpy finished second, and R Vaishali also qualified for the Women’s Candidates.
In 2026, India will likely have three women in the Candidates – and just one man, with Praggnanandhaa still leading the FIDE Circuit race.
Grandmaster and Olympiad-winning coach Srinath Narayanan called the Indian performance in Goa“definitely disappointing”, noting the unforgiving nature of the knockout format.
“It’s like a one-set tennis match,” he told The Indian Express. “One mistake, and there is no coming back.”
Srinath also pointed to fatigue, over-scheduling, pressure, and uneven motivation as contributing factors.
The top Indian players have endured a brutal tournament calendar in 2025, spanning invitational meets, Grand Chess Tour events, and the Freestyle Chess circuit.
“The schedule is insane,” he said. “It has caught up with them – especially Praggnanandhaa.”
