The $2m (£1.5m), 206-player World Cup taking place in Goa, India, has a brutal format designed to maximise the chance of shock results. Its knockout matches consist of the best of just two classical games, followed by rapid and blitz tie-breaks at increasingly fast speeds, then a final Armageddon game where White has more time but is obliged to win. The major incentive besides the prize money is three places in the 2026 Candidates, the pathway to the world title.
Ian Nepomniachtchi, the Russia No 1 who twice played for the global crown, the USA’s world No 8, Wesley So, and Hans Niemann, who has huge ambitions, were the high-profile casualties in Thursday’s second round of 128, which was the first round for the top 50 seeds. After losing to the little-known Indian Diptayan Ghosh, Nepomniachtchi posted a laconic message: “There’s nothing to say about the chess part. Goa is one of those places you don’t feel sad about leaving.”
