FIDE World Cup 2025: Pranav, Pranesh, Ganguly Shine as India Make Confident Start; Divya Deshmukh Falls After Brave Fight

India’s campaign at the FIDE World Cup 2025 began on a promising note as World Junior champion GM Pranav V, GM Pranesh M, and veteran GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly scored impressive opening-round victories, while Women’s World Cup winner GM Divya Deshmukh went down fighting against Greece’s GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis in her first game on Saturday.

The first day of play at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa witnessed a mix of experience and emerging talent from India taking centre stage, with several matches going deep into positional battles.

Leading the Indian charge, Pranav V, the highest-ranked Indian in action on Day 1, got off to a confident start with a clinical victory over IM Ala Eddine Boulrens of Algeria. Playing white, Pranav faced the Slav Defence and maintained positional control throughout. His precision in the middlegame and patience in the endgame ensured a smooth finish to secure the full point. Veteran Surya Shekhar Ganguly, one of India’s most experienced players, showcased his trademark composure. Using the Ruy Lopez, he outplayed GM Ahmad Ahmadzada of Azerbaijan, converting his positional advantage into victory after just 37 moves.

Ganguly’s win underlined his enduring class and ability to dictate complex positions even against younger opponents.

Meanwhile, GM Pranesh M impressed with an assertive 48-move win against IM Satbek Akhmedinov of Kazakhstan. Controlling the tempo early, the Tamil Nadu prodigy combined precision and tactical awareness to claim the point comfortably.

Local favourite GM Leon Luke Mendonca, playing in front of a home crowd, had chances to press for victory against IM Shixu B Wang of China, but despite a promising position in the middlegame, the 18-year-old could not convert and had to settle for a draw after 50 moves. Elsewhere, GM Raunak Sadhwani faced an unexpectedly stubborn challenge from FM Daniel Barrish of South Africa. Despite an early advantage, an oversight in the endgame forced the Nagpur youngster to share the spoils after 56 moves.

Among other Indians, GM Iniyan Panneerselvam made a strong impression, defeating GM Dylan Berdayes of Cuba, while GM Narayanan S.L. and GM Karthik Venkataraman both drew their games against IM Steven Rojas (Peru) and GM Roberto Garcia Pantoja (Cuba) respectively. However, IM Aronyak Ghosh, IM Himal Gusain, and IM Neelash Saha found the going tough, losing their encounters to higher-rated opposition.

Divya Deshmukh’s Brave Effort Falls Short

All eyes were on Divya Deshmukh, India’s Women’s World Cup champion and the lone female participant in the Open section, as she took on Greece’s GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis.

Divya started solidly but fell behind after a miscalculated pawn exchange on the 17th move, which handed her opponent the initiative in the middlegame. Despite the setback, the 19-year-old from Nagpur displayed remarkable resilience, forcing the game into a tense rook-and-pawn ending under severe time pressure. Stamatis, however, maintained a strong position with an advancing b-pawn and eventually forced resignation after 41 moves. While the result went against her, Divya’s performance against a higher-rated Grandmaster once again highlighted her fighting spirit and technical maturity.

Among the top foreign contenders, Turkey’s prodigy GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, the highest-ranked player in action on Day 1, showed why he is among the world’s most exciting young talents. Playing with white, the 13-year-old took complete control against CM Nagi Abugenda of Libya, forcing resignation after just 17 moves. Argentina’s Faustino Oro, the youngest competitor at the event, impressed by holding GM Ante Brkic to a draw with black pieces, further underlining the depth of emerging talent in world chess.

The FIDE World Cup 2025 features 206 players from 82 countries, competing for the Viswanathan Anand Cup, renamed this year in honour of India’s first World Chess Champion. The single-elimination format will see three players qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, the final qualifier for the World Championship title match.

With the top 50 seeds receiving byes in the opening round, India’s second-tier of Grandmasters are in focus as they aim to progress and join stars like D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and R. Praggnanandhaa, who will enter from Round 2 on November 4.

Round 1 – Game 1: Indian Results

As India’s campaign gains momentum, all eyes now turn to the second games of Round 1, where the country’s young stars will look to consolidate their advantage and progress to the next round.

With home support behind them and early victories boosting morale, India’s FIDE World Cup journey has begun on a hopeful note.