India’s campaign in the Chess tournament at the Esports World Cup ended in the quarterfinals on Friday, with Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin finishing among the top eight.Arjun, representing Gen.G Esports, lost to Team Falcons’ Hikaru Nakamura after their quarterfinal was decided in an Armageddon tiebreak.The four regulation games all ended in draws, leaving the match level and forcing a decider. Nakamura had White in the Armageddon game and converted his advantage before checkmating Arjun to reach the semifinals.It was another close meeting between the two Grandmasters. Nakamura had also beaten Arjun in last year’s third-place playoff at the tournament.Nihal also faced a familiar opponent in his quarterfinal, taking on defending champion Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid in a repeat of last year’s knockout stage.Carlsen won the first two games before the third ended in a draw, giving him a 2.5-0.5 victory and sending him into the semifinals as he continues his title defence.The other two quarterfinals also needed decisive results. AG.AL’s Denis Lazavik beat Natus Vincere’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in Armageddon, while Team Falcons’ Alireza Firouzja defeated GodLike Esports’ Hans Moke Niemann 2.5-1.5.The semifinal line-up will see Nakamura face Lazavik, while Carlsen will meet Firouzja in a repeat of last year’s final.Although Arjun and Nihal did not make the semifinals, their quarterfinal appearances gave India its best showing in the Chess event. Both players will receive USD 75,000 each from the tournament’s USD 1.5 million (approximately Rs 14.3 crore) prize pool.India’s four-player contingent also featured S8UL Esports’ Pranesh M, who was knocked out in the Lower Bracket a day earlier. He earned USD 55,000 (approximately Rs 52.5 lakh).S8UL’s Aravindh Chithambaram, who exited during the Play-Ins, received USD 23,000 (approximately Rs 21.9 lakh).The EWC Chess playoffs now move into the semifinals, which will be played across six games. The championship match will follow a best-of-three sets format. The first two sets will consist of four games each, while a third set, if required, will have two games to decide the champion.
