Panaji, Nov 16 (NationPress) The fate of India's journey in the FIDE World Cup 2025 now rests entirely on the shoulders of second seed GM Arjun Erigaisi, following GM P Harikrishna's defeat in the fifth round tiebreak against GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara this past Sunday.

While Arjun achieved a stunning victory against two-time champion GM Levon Aronian with a score of 1.5:0.5 in the classical rounds, Harikrishna found himself in a critical situation after drawing both classical matches, necessitating a win in the tiebreak.

The initial two Rapid Games, featuring a 15-minute time control, also concluded in draws.

In the subsequent Rapid games with a 10-minute control, Harikrishna aimed for victory with the white pieces and utilized his preparation to gain an extra minute on his clock after 14 moves. However, Martinez was well-prepared for the counterplay, gradually seizing the initiative after Harikrishna exchanged queens. Ultimately, Martinez secured the win in a rook-pawn endgame after 59 moves.

Facing a must-win situation with the black pieces in the second game, Harikrishna could only manage a draw, resulting in his elimination after just 30 moves.

In other tiebreak matches, GM Sam Shankland triumphed over former world rapid champion GM Daniil Dubov, while GM Andrey Esipenko won with the white pieces and drew with black against GM Aleksey Grebnev to progress to the quarterfinals. The final spot in the quarterfinals was claimed by GM Alexander Donchenko from Germany, who defeated GM Le Quang Liem from Vietnam.

In the upcoming quarterfinals on Monday, Arjun will face Chinese GM Wei Yi, Shankland will compete against Esipenko, and Martinez will go up against GM Javokhir Sindarov.