With the gradual arrival of most of the top 50 seeds, the second game of round one commenced on time in the convention hall of the Baga Resort Rio in Goa. Among others, I spotted elite 2700+ GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Javokhir Sindarov, Vladimir Fedoseev, and Jorden van Foreest acclimatising to the new location. I also had the pleasure of having lunch with the 13th seed, Le Quang Liem from Vietnam.
Commentator Jan Gustafsson noted that players might need a bit more time to adapt: “Two days seem to be cutting it rather close if you arrive from a distant time zone.” Top Indian Olympiad player Vidit Gujrathi obviously doesn’t have this disadvantage, though he still enjoyed a relaxed stroll around the playing hall toward the end of the round.
More top players are expected to arrive throughout the day, with the rest of the field assembling at the venue tomorrow — eager to learn who they will face in the second round of the knockout. All of them, including World Champion Gukesh D., will join the action in round two.
The venue welcomed a very special guest to perform the ceremonial first move. Vishy Anand — former five-time World Champion and current FIDE Deputy President — opened the round by playing 1.c4 for Turkey’s Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus on board one. The move was met with 1…e5, played on behalf of his opponent, Abugenda Nagi of Libya, by Mr. Ali Fouzi, President of the Libyan Chess Federation.
Just fifteen minutes into the playing session, three players had already secured qualification to the second round. Amin Bassem, Étienne Bacrot, and Nikita Petrov were each awarded victories by forfeit after their opponents failed to appear for their two-game matches.
Barbadian International Master Orlando Husbands, however, arrived too late for the first game of his match but eventually made it to the venue and put his opponent — top German Grandmaster Frederik Svane (2640) — to the test. Though he ultimately lost and was eliminated, he fought valiantly and made his presence felt on the board.
Over the following hours, the hall was filled with deep concentration. As I moved among the tables in search of the most compelling encounters, the atmosphere was almost tangible — focus at 100%, and the tension of high stakes evident on every face.
The first decisive result was confirmed shortly after the midpoint of the round. American 15-year-old prodigy Andy Woodward scored the opening victory of the afternoon, defeating India’s Gusain Himal with a convincing 2–0 overall score.
Playing with the black pieces, Woodward had already seized the initiative. With his last move, 19…Ngf4, he attacked the pawn on g2. White needed to eliminate the knight immediately, but after just three minutes of reflection, Gusain blundered with 20.Kf1?, allowing 20…Nxg3+ 21.fxg3 Nh5!, creating the decisive threat of 22…Nxg3, which would win material.
The strength of the bishop on a7, dominating all the dark squares around White’s king, became apparent. Recognizing the hopelessness of his position, Gusain resigned soon after.
With this victory, Woodward advances to face a formidable opponent in round two — Austria’s Kirill Alekseenko (rated 2679).
As more results began to come in, attention turned to one of the most anticipated encounters of the day — the game featuring one of the youngest participants in the tournament, 14-year-old Argentinian prodigy IM Ilan Schnaider (rated 2401), against former European Champion Aleksandar Indjic, a strong Serbian Grandmaster rated 2635 — and, at 6’8″, arguably the tallest GM in the world!
Having lost the first game, Schnaider needed a victory to force a tiebreak. After the opening, he had exactly the kind of dynamic position he was hoping for.
The Serbian’s king on d7 was in serious trouble in this chaotic position, clearly favorable for White. Schnaider spent nearly fifteen minutes here, weighing his attacking options, before deciding on 17.Nf4, and ended up just slightly better. However, he missed a golden opportunity to press for the full point. Instead the move played, he could have launched a powerful assault with 17.Qa4+!
The key idea is after 17…c6 fails to 18.Be7! attacking the queen and preparing dangerous follow-ups such as Qa3–d6 or Re4. It’s likely that a player of Schnaider’s caliber examined this line but dismissed it due to the absence of an immediate tactical breakthrough.
Needing only a draw to advance, Indjic chose to simplify the earliest opportunity and calmly secured qualification after a draw in a double-rook endgame.
Yesterday’s biggest upset came when Chilean GM Cristóbal Henríquez Villagra unexpectedly lost on time in a theoretically drawn endgame against an opponent rated 150 points lower. Determined to make amends, he struck back today with an impressive attacking victory that forced a tiebreak.
Henríquez Villagra concluded the game in style with the precise and elegant 45.Re8+!. The point is simple yet beautiful: after 45…Qxe8, White delivers a classic “Dovetail Mate” with 46.Qd6#.
A clean and instructive finish — and a fitting way to erase the memory of yesterday’s disappointment.
Combination of the day
It’s always difficult to single out the best combination of the day — with so many great games unfolding simultaneously, it’s nearly impossible to keep track of them all. Nevertheless, Spain’s number one, GM David Antón Guijarro, secured his 2–0 qualification to the next round with a brilliant queen sacrifice against Angolan IM David Silva.
Silva has just played 31.Rea1, threatening Ra7 and giving up his bishop on g5, in order to seize control of the seventh rank and threaten the f7-pawn. Antón thought for a few minutes before confidently accepting the challenge with 31…Bxg5. After 32.Ra7, he stunned the spectators by sacrificing his queen: 32…Qxa7! 33.Rxa7 Rf6!, attacking White’s queen and turning the tables completely.
After 34.Qd1 Rxf2, Silva resigned. A spectacular illustrative line might be 35.h3 Rxf1! 36.Bxf1 Be3+ 37.Kg2 Bxe4+, with a decisive attack. It’s clear that Antón had foreseen this entire sequence before giving up his queen — a testament to both courage and calculation.
Meanwhile, the recent Women’s World Cup winner — and the only female participant in the field — Indian GM Divya Deshmukh had to bid farewell to the event after losing her second game to GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis.
Needing a win and staying true to her dynamic style, Divya opted for an unbalanced position right from the opening. Her opponent, however, kept things under control, defended precisely, and later capitalized on Divya’s time trouble to convert in a rook ending.
As expected, most of the favourites advanced comfortably to the next round. However, twenty matches ended in 1–1 ties, meaning those players will return tomorrow for the tiebreaks — though one notable favourite will not return at all. Local GM Leon Luke Mendonca (rated 2620) was unexpectedly eliminated from the World Cup this afternoon by China’s IM Wang Shixu B (rated 2402), marking one of the biggest surprises of the opening round.
Tomorrow’s Round One Tiebreaks will feature a new and intriguing format. The 20 tied matches will begin with a two-game rapid mini-match at a time control of 15 minutes + 10 seconds increment per move, starting from move one. If the score remains tied, players will proceed to another two-game rapid match with a shorter time control of 10 minutes + 10 seconds increment.
Should the rapid stage fail to produce a winner, the match will move to blitz — first two games at 5 minutes + 3 seconds increment, followed, if necessary, by two games at 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment.
In the unlikely event that the match is still tied after all these stages, the Sudden Death (Armageddon) tiebreaker introduces a novel twist. White will receive 4 minutes + 2 seconds increment, while both players secretly submit a time bid, indicating how much time they are willing to play with as Black. The player who bids the lowest time wins the bid, takes the black pieces, and wins the match if the game ends in a draw.
The Round 1 tiebreaks begin on November 3st at 3 PM local time. The action can be followed live on the FIDE YouTube Channel, featuring expert commentary by GMs Evgenij Miroshnichenko and Jan Gustafsson.
To watch the games in person, tickets can be purchased [HERE]
Official website: worldcup2025.fide.com/
Written by IM Michael Rahal
Photos: Michal Walusza and Eteri Kublashvili
