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India's four quarterfinalists at the 2023 FIDE World Cup had mixed results on Tuesday - with world No.1 Magnus Carlsen beating D Gukesh in their first of two classical games, as did Arjun Erigaisi in his all-Indian clash against R Praggnanandhaa. Vidit Gujrathi drew his first classical game against local favourite Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan in their quarterfinal tie. Each World Cup tie features two classical games, and if the players are tied at the end of it, they move on to two rapid games, and if still tied, blitz thereafter until a winner is found. All Indians in the quarterfinal fray play their second classical game on Wednesday. Carlsen took down the 17-year old Gukesh with black pieces showing his endgame mastery and gained the upperhand over the Indian prodigy. The Norwegian superstar is one draw away from the semifinals, leading the tie 1-0. Thus, nothing less than a win will do for Gukesh, who can only force the clash into a tiebreak. This was the 17-year-old's third-ever classical game against Carlsen, having never beaten the Norwegian in this format (the other two were draws and his only win over Carlsen came in a blitz game). In the other last-eight clash, 19-year old GM Arjun Erigaisi pulled off a win in 53 moves over 18-year old GM R Praggnanandhaa to take a big step towards a spot in the semifinal. The clash between the two Indian prodigies saw Erigaisi come up trumps with black pieces. A draw on Wednesday would be enough for Erigaisi to progress to the semifinals, where he would also be in contention to become the first Indian to feature in the prestigious FIDE Candidates tournament since Viswanathan Anand (Top 3 of this World Cup qualify). Vidit Gujrathi, the fourth Indian player in the quarterfinals, held his own against an aggressive Abasov to ensure a draw in their first classical game. Another draw on Wednesday would force a tiebreak (rapid), while a win would send Vidit into the semifinals against the winner of the Carlsen-Gukesh clash. The winner of the Erigaisi-Praggnanandhaa tie faces off against either world No.3 Fabiano Caruana or Leinier Dominguez Perez, who drew the first game of their quarterfinal tie.
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