GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara: Uzbekistan’s GM Javokhir Sindarov and GM Wei Yi of China will face each other in the FIDE World Cup 2025 final after both secured their spots by winning their respective semifinals via the tiebreak, also confirming their places in the Candidates on Sunday.
Both classical games in the two semifinals ended in draws, meaning all the players' rapid skills would be tested in the tiebreak.
Sindarov, who had eliminated GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara in the quarterfinals, took a leading position to move forward by defeating Nodirbek Yakubboev in the first rapid game with black pieces.
The 19-year-old convinced Nordirbek to resign after 47 moves when he nearly promoted his c-file pawn to a queen in a rook-pawn endgame. He then drew the second game easily with white pieces in another rook-pawn ending, even as his opponent tried to force a win for 54 moves.
In the second semi-final, Wei demonstrated his mastery in rapid chess by drawing the first game with black and then defeating GM Andrey Esipenko in 57 moves with white.
Wei, the highest-ranked player remaining in the tournament, was clearly in trouble after move 55 as Esipenko had two more pawns than him in a rook-knight endgame. However, the Russian Grandmaster missed the chance to defend his rook a few moves earlier, which could have allowed him to gain a material advantage.
Speaking about his win, Wei Yi said, “Biggest achievement of my chess career. I am very happy about it. I don’t know what would be the result today but I wanted to give my best today. In the final position in the second game, my opponent blundered a rook. Otherwise, black could have played for a win and I would have to play for a draw. This is a long tournament and maybe he was tired.”
Sindarov and Wei will now compete to determine the winner of the Viswanathan Anand Cup, while Nodirbek and Esipenko will go head-to-head for the last available Candidates Spots.
Results:
Sindarov and Wei will now compete to determine the winner of the Viswanathan Anand Cup, while Nodirbek and Esipenko will go head-to-head for the last available Candidates Spots.
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GM Wei Yi (China) bt GM Andrey Esipenko (FIDE) (2.5:1.5 aggregate)