Arjun, Praggnanandhaa, Harikrishna Eye Round 4 Wins as India’s Chess Charge Gathers Momentum

India’s chess contingent heads into the crucial fourth round of the FIDE World Cup with five players still in contention, led by world No. 3 Arjun Erigaisi facing Hungarian legend Peter Leko in a blockbuster clash. The 22-year-old Erigaisi, seeded directly into round two, has been ruthless so far, eliminating Bulgaria’s Martin Petrov and Uzbekistan’s Shamsiddin Vokhidov without dropping a classical game and winning three of four encounters. Leko, 46 and semi-retired, has rolled back the years by dispatching Bobby Cheng and Kiriil Alekseenko cleanly, while his protégé Vincent Keymer also reaches the last 32—creating a rare mentor-student duo in the knockout stage.

Teenage sensation R Praggnanandhaa takes on creative Russian Daniil Dubov (FIDE flag), who survived two grueling tiebreak marathons against China’s Bai Jinshi and Uruguay’s Georg Meier. Praggnanandhaa himself narrowly escaped round-two elimination against Uzbek-Australian Temur Kuybokarov before dominating Armenia’s Robert Hovhannisyan. Veteran P. Harikrishna, sticking to his trusted “win with White, draw with Black” formula, meets Sweden’s Nils Grandelius after comfortable victories over Russia’s Arseniy Nesterov and Belgium’s Daniel Dardha.

World junior champion V. Pranav and giant-killer Venkatraman Karthik complete a strong Indian showing in the round of 32. Pranav crushed Lithuania’s Titas Stremavicius after earlier wins over Algeria’s Ada Eddine Boulrens and Norway’s Aryan Tari, needing just one decisive game in each match. Karthik, the 109th seed, continued his dream run by ousting compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram and Romania’s Deac Bogdan-Daniel, and now faces Vietnam’s Le Quang Liem.

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Other standout pairings include German prodigy Vincent Keymer versus Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo and Armenian-turned-American Levon Aronian against Poland’s Radoslav Wojtaszek. With two spots in the 2026 Candidates Tournament and a $1.2 million prize pool at stake, the Indians remain firmly in the hunt as the knockout intensifies.

As the first rest day ends, Arjun starts as the favourite against Leko, Praggnanandhaa seeks stability against Dubov’s chaos, and Harikrishna leans on experience. Pranav and Karthik carry the underdog fire, making India one of the most represented nations in the last 32 and a serious threat in the race to the final.

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