FIDE World Cup 2025 Round 2 Begins: Top Stars Enter, Fierce Battles in Goa

The big moment arrived in Goa today; the top 50 seeds finally joined the board. World champion Gukesh D and elite grandmasters like Arjun Erigaisi, Wei Yi, Vincent Keymer, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave all played their first game of the event. The atmosphere changed immediately. No warm-ups. No easy rounds. Just serious chess from move one.

India’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and legendary Vishy Anand made the ceremonial first move on Gukesh’s board. After that, the gloves came off.

Gukesh held, not crushed

Many expected the world champion to start with fireworks, but Kazakhstan’s Kazybek Nogerbek played confidently and held a clean draw. No blunders, no panic. Just correct defense. Gukesh will now need to push in game two.

This is why the World Cup format is brutal; even the top seed can’t relax for one game.

Arjun ready from move one

Arjun Erigaisi wasted no time. When Martin Petrov started to lose control around move 40, Arjun converted calmly. No drama, no rush, just patient calculation. A good start for one of the favorites to win the whole event.

Wei Yi brings back attacking chess

Wei Yi reminded everyone why people once called him the next Chinese superstar. In a sharp position, he played the beautiful attacking idea 18.Bf7+, leading to a fast win. Simple: when he sees an attack, he goes for it.

Esipenko hits early

Andrey Esipenko also scored a miniature, defeating Nijat Abasov with precise attacking play. He found the move 18.Ba6, and Black’s king never recovered. One mistake at this level is enough to end the day.

Aronian’s creative touch

Levon Aronian didn’t disappoint. He sacrificed material, opened lines, and finished with elegant technique. When he gets positions like this, he still looks unstoppable. His opponent Aronyak Ghosh defended, but the attack was too strong.

Elsewhere on the boards

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played his typical sharp style and won cleanly.
Mamedyarov defended a wild game and turned it around with calm calculation.
Vincent Keymer took his time and eventually broke through in the endgame.

A few interesting results:

• Georg Meier defeated World Rapid Champion Volodar Murzin
• Ivan Zemlyansky beat Ray Robson with a tactical finish.
• Several matches still very balanced and likely heading to tiebreaks

Faustino Oro continues calm performance

The youngest player in the tournament, 12-year-old Faustino Oro, drew comfortably against Vidit Gujrathi with Black. Not surviving by luck but by playing correctly, confidently, and with clear ideas. Yesterday he shocked the chess world. Today he showed he belongs here.

He is not here to be a story. He is here to fight.

What’s next

Round 2 Game 2 will be played tomorrow at 3 PM IST. A lot of matches can still go either way. One mistake and your World Cup ends. That’s the beauty and pain of this format.

If necessary, tiebreaks will follow, and in this tournament, blitz and rapid have already given us drama and rising heroes.

Goa has officially entered the serious phase.
The stars are here.
The pressure is real.
The chess level is going up with every round.

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