It was a proud moment for the nation and the Indian Chess team on 26th July when India’s No.3 player Vidit Gujrathi defeated Azerbaijan’s Vasif Durarbayli 1.5-0.5 to enter the quarterfinals of the FIDE chess World Cup being held at Sochi, Russia.
The 26-year old young Indian GM made a splendid display to tackle his opponent, winning in the fifth round encounter in 38 moves. In the first game of the 2-games mini match, both players had played out a draw.
A Strategic Win & a Triumphant Breakthrough
With his entry to the quarterfinals, GM Vidit has become the 4th player from the Indian team to qualify for the World Cup 2021 and the first Indian to cross into the quarterfinals since 2002.
American GM Sam Shankland became the first player to reach the quarterfinals after overcoming Russian GM Peter Svidler. He also affirmed his spot in the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix. Vidit Gujrathi was the second to follow in Shankland’s footsteps.
In the second game of the fifth round with Durarbayli, Vidit employed the Ruy Lopez Arkangelsk variation and secured a win with black pieces.
FIDE on its official handle tweeted Vidit’s game as “strategically played to restrict White’s light-squared bishop”.
Vidit’s next battle would be with the winner of the match between Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Russia’s Alexander Grischuk.
Proving his mettle in deeper waters
The entry to the quarterfinals is yet another feather on the crown for Vidit as the young player from Nashik, Maharashtra, became the first player since 2002 to achieve the feat after Viswanathan Anand.
Vidit Gujrathi qualified for the Chess World Cup 2021 based on his international rating. For Vidit, this is his third World Cup following the ones he participated in 2017 and 2019.
Vidit’s impressive progress to the quarterfinals is his sweet revenge on his critics who blame him for his non-aggressive and defensive moves.
Third in Indian ranking, Vidit Gujrathi has many laurels to his credit. He steered the Indian chess team as captain during the first ever FIDE Online Chess Olympiad. Under him, the Indian team made history by bagging the gold medal. He had also contributed to India’s pride through his multiple victories at the Tata Steel Chess, Beil Grandmaster's event, Prague Masters, etc.
He is also the fourth Indian to cross the 2700 ELO rating in 2017. Vidit is 23rd in the world ranking. The 26 year old is employed at ONGC with ample support from Bharat Forge and Lakshya Foundation.
Chess World Cup 2021: The Indian Stamp
Along with Vidit the Indian team has GM Aravindh Chidambaram, GM Iniyan P, and GM Harikrishna, for the men’s squad while Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali, D Harika, Bhakti Kulkarni, and Padmini Rout fit in for the women’s event.
Vidit had earlier beaten the American GM Jeffrey Xiong 2-0 with a 43 move victory to progress to the fifth round in the FIDE Chess World Cup.
Meanwhile, India’s highly-rated young prodigy and teenage GM R Praggnanandhaa bowed off to GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 0.5-1.5 in the fourth round.
Know more about the young prodigy on Mind Mentorz blog
Despite a draw in the first game, the French GM retaliated with a 33-move win. It was the maiden world cup for the 15-year old who holds an Elo rating of 2608. Praggnanandhaa had three impressive wins, including one against veteran Michal Krasenkow in the third round.
FIDE World Cup 2021: Changing tracks
The FIDE World Cup 2021 that began in Sochi, Russia from 10th July is a classical event with standard time control and will conclude on 6th August.
A total of 309 players (206 in open and 103 in women) participate in the over-the-board event. The Indian team has 12 warriors: 8 in the open and 4 in the women’s category.
The World Cup has become an exciting event – especially as it is recovering from the pandemic blow – due to the knock-out format. Also, both the runner-up and the winner will enter the Candidates 2022, marking the significance of the event in the World Championship cycle.
No-Castling Chess: The New Chess Variant
The format for this year has undergone a rework so as to provide opportunities to a wider section of players. 206 players will participate in the open section while 103 players appear for the women section. In rounds 1 and 25, 50 top seeds from the open and 25 from the women will get a bye. While the rest 156 players fight it out, 78 will face elimination and the remaining 78 will join the top 50 seeds completing the list of 128 players. Similarly, 64 players will remain after the first round in the women's tournament.