India’s challenge in the Fide Chess World Cup ended on Tuesday with both P Harikrishna and Vidit Gujrathi losing their respective third round matches in Khanty-Mansiysk on Monday.
Nothing short of a win was enough for the Indian contingent to take the game into the third round of the tie-break. Harikrishna had suffered his first loss of the tournament against Kirill Alekseenko and was in a desperate need of a win. But the Russian pocketed the match 2-0 in a move that lasted 52 moves.
Gujrathi had lost in 93 moves against Wesley So of USA in the first game and like Harikrishna, needed a win to stay alive in the tournament. The former World No 2, though, held Gujrathi to draw in a game that lasted 45 moves with white pieces.
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