Lazavik upsets Nepo, Nihal beats Duda
The group stage of the Esports World Cup concluded on Thursday in Paris, with the remaining 12 players fighting for 4 places in the playoffs. The two 8-player groups were contested as double-elimination brackets at a 10+0 time control.
Alireza Firouzja, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura had already secured their places on Wednesday after winning two matches apiece in the winners brackets. Thursday was therefore devoted to the losers brackets in each group, where one more defeat meant elimination.
The playoffs bracket
Group A: Nihal and Erigaisi advance
Wei Yi and Benjamin Bok were the first two players eliminated from Group A.
Nihal Sarin defeated Wei in Armageddon, taking white in the decider and scoring the win he needed. The result represented an upset in terms of classical rating, though Nihal has long established a particularly strong reputation in fast-paced online chess.
Pranesh Munirethinam then made it two Indian victories from two in the opening round of Thursday’s lower bracket by eliminating Bok. The players exchanged wins with white in the two regulation games, sending the match to Armageddon. Pranesh bid under seven minutes for black, which gave him draw odds, and held the position to remain in the competition.
That left Nihal facing Jan-Krzysztof Duda, while Pranesh met compatriot Arjun Erigaisi. Erigaisi won their all-Indian encounter 2–0, although the first game was anything but straightforward.
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Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 2…g6
Playing white, Erigaisi reached this ending a pawn up, with both players having under 2 minutes on the clock. It is objectively equal, but Erigaisi managed to prevail in the end.
The Nihal-Duda contest was closer. In the first game, Nihal missed a sudden opportunity to win with black with both players under severe time pressure, with Nihal having 6 seconds remaining to Duda’s 15.
After missing the winning chance, the Indian GM found a repetition to secure the draw – in a game which he was likely to lose on time. Nihal then won convincingly with white in the second game, securing his place in the playoffs.
The results completed Group A’s four qualifiers: Firouzja, Abdusattorov, Erigaisi and Nihal. Friday’s quarterfinal pairings will see Erigaisi face Nakamura, while Nihal has been paired with Carlsen, the defending champion and perennial favourite.
All games – Losers Bracket (Group A)
Group B: Lazavik and Niemann survive the lower bracket
Ian Nepomniachtchi began Thursday with a 1½–½ victory over Andrey Esipenko. Nepomniachtchi won the opening game with white and drew the second with Black, repeatedly building sizeable advantages on the clock through his characteristically quick play. With no increment in the 10-minute format, time management is a crucial factor in the event.
In the other opening match, 16-year-old Sina Movahed eliminated Alexey Sarana in Armageddon. Movahed, who has a classical rating of 2595, is another player whose results in fast-paced online competition have often exceeded what his classical ranking might suggest. He played black in the decider and secured the draw required to advance.
Nepomniachtchi then faced Denis Lazavik, while Movahed took on Hans Niemann. Both matches finished 1½–½, with Lazavik and Niemann taking the final two playoff places.
Lazavik first held a solid draw with white against Nepomniachtchi before winning the second game with black. In the decisive game, Lazavik picked up a pawn on move 35 in a complicated position in which queens and three minor pieces remained on each side.
At this point Lazavik had 2 minutes and 43 seconds against Nepomniachtchi’s 4 minutes and 11 seconds, but that did not prevent him from converting the material advantage despite the continuing complexity.
The game lasted until move 68. By the time Nepomniachtchi resigned, Lazavik had 38 seconds remaining.
This is an illustration of the speed and precision required in a format where no additional time is added after each move.
Niemann, meanwhile, opened his match against Movahed by converting a rook ending with three pawns against two, despite the position being objectively holdable.
The US star then maintained the balance with black in the complex battle which emerged in the second game, and thus secured the draw he needed and eliminate the Iranian teenager.
The 8-player playoff field is therefore complete. Lazavik will face Abdusattorov on Friday, while Niemann is set to play against Firouzja. The playoffs run on Friday and Saturday and will determine the second Esports World Cup chess champion.