Vidit scored another emphatic victory over Jeffery Xiong to eliminate him and secure his own place in the Round of 16 at FIDE World Cup 2021. The India no.3 has become India no.2 now as Harikrishna drew his must-win game against Tabatabaei and got knocked out. Praggnanandhaa's fantastic debut the World Cup has come to an end as he lost to Vachier-Lagrave. Carlsen misses a win against Wojtaszek and now he will have to play tie-breaks for the first time in this event. Abdusattorov, Ponkratov, Goryachkina and Dzagnidze have made comebacks to force tie-breaks. Round 4 tie-break games start today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE
Harikrishna tried to a lot to win his must-win game but unfortunately his opponent Tabatabaei did not give him any chance. Vachier-Lagrave sacrificed his queen and defeated Praggnanandhaa, showing why he is one of the best in the world. Vidit beat Xiong for the second consecutive game to secure his place in the Round of 16. Thus Vidit has now become India no.2 and World no.21 in the live rating list.
Vidit beat Xiong in consecutive games | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE
FIDE World Cup 2021 and FIDE Women's World Cup 2021 Official logo | Photo: Official site
Vachier-Lagrave - Praggnanandhaa: 1.5-0.5
An incorrect break by Praggnanandhaa in the center gave his opponent Vachier-Lagrave the upper hand.
Position after 21...e5
21...e5 allowed White to bring the king to safety after 22.fxe5 dxe5 23.Qc5 Qb7 24.Kb2. Instead, a direct 21...a5 would have kept things interesting.
Position after 26.Rac1
Vachier-Lagrave offered his queen 26.Rac1 and there was not much to go on for Black after 26...Rxc5 27.Rxc5. Thus, Praggnanandhaa's fantastic debut at the FIDE World Cup had come to an end.
Praggnanandhaa got eliminated by one of the best in the world - Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE
Harikrishna - Tabatabaei: 0.5-1.5
Harikrishna tried a lot, but there was not much for him to do as his opponent Tabatabaei played solid and did not give any chance.
Harikrishna was eliminated by Iran no.3 Tabatabaei | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE
Vidit - Xiong: 2-0
Jeffery Xiong misjudged Vidit's intencity of his attack on the kingside and he kept playing on the other side of the board.
Position after 33...Ra4
Black needed to play 33...Qf8 and be ready to defend the attack on his king. 34.Qxh5 would have met with 34...Qg7. However, Xiong chose to play 33...Ra4 34.Qxh5 Rxb4 35.Kg2 Na4 36.Bc1 and White went on to win the game in another seven moves.
Vidit Gujrathi's thumping 2-0 victory over Xiong | Video: ChessBase India
Vidit on his match with Xiong, declining the draw, Illegal moves, India no.2, Sochi and Social Media | Video: ChessBase India
Vidit became one of the two players to win the match 2-0 in Round 4 | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE
Carlsen - Wojtaszek: 0.5-0.5
Carlsen made his second consecutive draw against Wojtaszek and for the first time he will play tie-breaks in this event.
Position after 25.Bc2
25.Rxh7 was completely winning for White. Unfortunately for the world champion, he opted for 25.Bc2 which allowed Black to get back in the game. Find out how.
Until this World Cup, Carlsen-Wojtaszek had only two draws against each other | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE
Highlights
Here are a few interesting finishes from Round 4.2
Magnus Carlsen (NOR) drew with Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL)
Vasif Durarbayli (AZE) lost to Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB)
Pavel Ponkratov (RUS) defeated Etienne Bacrot (FRA)
Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) lost to Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS)
GM Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) won against IM Polina Shuvalova (RUS)
FIDE World Cup 2021 Round 4.2 Live Commentary by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal | Video: ChessBase India
Photo Gallery
Carlsen is very determined to win the World Cup | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE
Uzbekistan's last hope at the World Cup - Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE
The world champion is delighted to see his mask | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE
Anna Muzychuk is through to the next round | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE
Alexandra Kosteniuk has also advanced to the Quarter-Finals | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE
Goryachkina made a great comeback against Stefanova to force tie-breaks | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE
Dzagnidze delivered an equalizer against Shuvalova to force tie-breaks | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE
Fedoseev beat Kovalev 2-0 to secure his place in the Round of 16 | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE
Duda beat Pouya 1.5-0.5 to advance to the next stage | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE
Both Kashlinskaya and Wojtaszek will play tie-breaks today | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE
