Panaji, Nov 14 (IANS) Grandmaster (GM) Arjun Erigaisi’s efforts to break through GM Levon Aronian’s defence did not fructify, while GM P Harikrishna played out a quick draw in the opening game of the fifth round of the FIDE World Cup 2025 here on Friday. Playing white, Arjun could not convert his slight advantage in the double rook endgame as the two players split points after 41 moves.

Earlier, Harikrishna played a solid game with black to ensure that giant-killer GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara had no opportunities to win with white.

A total of 24 Indian players started the competition that saw 206 players from 82 countries vying for the Viswanathan Anand Trophy. After four rounds, only two Indians are still in the fray to win the title and also grab a spot on offer in the Candidates tournament.

On Friday, Arjun was keen on grabbing the advantage against two-time champion Aronian with white pieces. It looked like the Armenian-born Aronian was in trouble when he took almost 30 minutes to play his 21st move.

To his credit, he found a way to get out of trouble and then played solid chess to ensure that he goes into the second game with a theoretical advantage as he plays white.

There was no such trouble for Harikrishna, as he was well prepared for Alcantara’s plan, and both the players raced to a rook-pawn endgame quickly and then opted for a draw in 41 moves. At the time of writing, six of the eight matches had ended in a draw.

Erigaisi defeated GM Peter Leko in both the rapid games, while P Harikrishna made the most of the chances he got to beat GM Nils Grandelius in the second game to advance to the pre-quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup 2025 here on Thursday.

However, R. Praggnanandhaa’s campaign came to an end after losing to former World Rapid Champion GM Daniil Dubov in the fifth round. With Pranav V and Karthik Venkataraman losing in the classical games in round 5, there were three Indians in the tiebreak, and two of them ultimately advanced to the next round.

Indian results (Round 5, Game 1):

GM Arjun Erigaisi drew with GM Levon Aronian 0.5:0.5

GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara drew with GM P Harikrishna 0.5:0.5

–IANS

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