My Favorite Game from the Chess World Cup 2025

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog!
Today we’ll take a look back at the recently concluded Chess World Cup, hosted by the prestigious Indian resort of Goa. The three players who punched their tickets to the Candidates are:

• Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan, the tournament winner,
• Wei Yi of China, the runner-up, and
• Andrey Esipenko of Russia, who clinched third place.

The other Uzbek representative, the young and talented Nodirbek Yakubboev, unfortunately ended his run as one of the tournament’s biggest heartbreak stories, despite delivering brilliant chess throughout the entire 25-day event in India. He finished in fourth place after losing to his compatriot Sindarov in the semifinals, and then to Esipenko in the bronze-medal match.
Congratulations to the winners, and best of luck in Cyprus!

Chess World Cup – Surprises Around Every Corner!

The event’s format is quite unusual for classical chess: a full-scale knockout system, where the crème de la crème of the chess world collide with phenomenal, yet lower-rated grandmasters - players who still have many steps to climb before reaching the very top. Along that climb, several tournament favorites slipped, reinforcing the idea that modern chess is becoming increasingly balanced, and therefore far more exciting to follow.
Among those who bowed out earlier than expected were the home favorites: reigning World Champion Gukesh, the gifted Praggnanandhaa, as well as former 2800-club member Erigaisi.

But the Hosts Still Have Something Beautiful to Remember!

For that, we can thank India’s long-time No. 2, the ever-impressive Pentala Harikrishna. The Budapest Olympiad gold medalist produced, in my humble opinion, the game of the tournament, in the second game of round two, against the talented speed-chess specialist Nesterov.
The opening was the Petrov Defense, one of the most rock-solid weapons in modern chess. However, Hari had been keeping a hidden ace up his sleeve (as he said in his interview, for nine years!), waiting for the perfect moment to unleash it. A positional–dynamic queen sacrifice for two minor pieces straight out of the opening completely threw Nesterov off balance, who had likely prepared for a far more solid, theory-heavy battle.
He responded quickly to the initial moves after accepting the sacrifice, but soon found himself burning time and making several inaccuracies in an utterly abstract position. Harikrishna, meanwhile, met the moment perfectly backing up superb preparation with even better over-the-board play.

Let’s take a closer look at what happened...

Chess World Cup – Summary

An event of this caliber definitely deserves at least one game like this. Chess is a beautiful game, and it’s precisely at tournaments like these that its magic shines!
As for the overall scenario and final standings, this year’s Chess World Cup lived up to my expectations. I’m someone who loves uncertainty and surprises in sports, so I must say that, even though my personal favorites didn’t qualify for the Candidates - the overall impression is very positive.

I truly enjoyed following the tournament, and how about you?
Who was your favorite?

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Thank you for reading, and I wish you great success and joy in your own chess adventures!