Panaji, 25 November. The FIDE World Cup 2025 final between Chinese Grandmaster Wei Yi and Uzbek GM Javokhir Sindarov also went to a tiebreak on Tuesday as both players opted for a safe draw in the second game as well. Meanwhile, GM Andrey Esipenko defeated Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev in the third-place play-off, ensuring that at least one Russian will be a part of the GM Candidates contest.

Draw in 30 moves in the second game between Wei Yi and Sindarov

Vishwanathan was not ready to take any risk in the ongoing title match between Wei and Sindarov for the Anand Cup. After drawing the opening game with black, the Chinese player played the same line that his opponent had chosen against Yakubboev in the semi-finals and settled for an early draw after the required 30 moves.

The play-off for third place was a thrilling one as Yakubov took the risk to secure victory after losing the first game against Esipenko on Monday. But his strategy gave Esipenko the lead on the 11th move. In this sequence, the Russian player representing FIDE gained the lead and forced Yakubboev to give up the game after 26 moves.

After qualifying for the Candidates, Esipenko said, ‘It feels good to qualify for the Candidates. Today, it was a very difficult game to play on this stage. I was not able to calculate anything. I was just putting my pieces in the right places. It was important to win the first game and then they needed an important win.