Veteran Indian Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna was knocked out of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 on Sunday, losing to Mexico’s Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara in the tiebreaks of Round 5 in Goa. With this result, Harikrishna becomes the 23rd Indian elimination, leaving the event’s highest-seeded player, Arjun Erigaisi, as the host nation’s sole representative.
Prior to this loss, Harikrishna had enjoyed a deep run in the tournament. He was one of only two Indians, alongside Arjun, to reach the fifth round. His campaign included victories over reigning Russian champion Arseniy Nesterov in the second round, Belgium’s Daniel Dardha, and Swedish Grandmaster Nils Grandelius.
INTERACTIVE: P. Harikrishna vs Jose Martinez 3rd Tiebreak Game
Had Harikrishna prevailed against Martinez, he would have been just one round away from virtually confirming a spot in the Candidates tournament. The top three finishers in the 2025 World Cup will qualify for the 2026 Candidates in Cyprus, whose winner earns the right to challenge the reigning Classical World Champion, India’s D. Gukesh.
Meanwhile, for Jose Martinez, fondly called “Jospem” in online chess circles, the Goa event has been a terrific success, seeing him surge past several elite players. After rolling over South Korea’s Isaak Huh and Serbia’s Velimir Ivic in the opening rounds, he stunned one of the heavy favourites, Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, with two straight wins in the classical section.
Martínez Alcantara continued his strong form by making short work of another Serbian, Alexey Sarana. He won the first game of the fourth round for his third consecutive classical victory and outmanoeuvred his opponent completely in the return game, eventually accepting a draw to become the first player to confirm his spot in Round 5.
Arjun Erigaisi, the last Indian standing, will face an uphill task in his quarterfinal match against the seventh seed, China’s Wei Yi. Jose Martinez will take on Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov in his own quarterfinal clash.
How Jose Martinez beat Harikrishna with dark pieces
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bc4 h6 9. Bd2 e6 10. Qe2 Be7 11. e5 dxe5 12. Qxe5 Qb8 13. Qxb8+ Rxb8 14. Bb3 c5 15. O-O-O Bc6 16. Ba4 Bxa4 17. Nxa4 c4 18. Bf4 Rb7 19. Rd4 Nd5 20. Bd2 Rc7 21. Ba5 Rc6 22. Nc3 Bg5+ 23. Kb1 Bf6 24. Rd2 Bxc3 25. Bxc3 Nxc3+ 26. bxc3 Ke7 27. Rhd1 Rb8+ 28. Kc1 Rb7 29. Rd4 Rbc7 30. Re1 Ra6 31. Ree4 Ra4 32. g4 g5 33. Kb2 f6 34. a3 Rc6 35. Re3 e5 36. Ree4 Rc8 37. Rd5 Ra6 38. Rb5 Rb6 39. Rb4 Ke6 40. Kc1 Rbc6 41. Re3 h5 42. gxh5 Rh8 43. Rh3 Kf5 44. Rb7 Kg4 45. Rg3+ Kf4 46. Rxa7 Rxh5 47. h3 f5 48. a4 Rhh6 49. Kd2 e4 50. a5 Ra6 51. Rf7 Rxa5 52. Ke2 Rh4 53. Rc7 Ra2 54. Rxc4 Rxc2+ 55. Kf1 g4 56. hxg4 Rh1+ 57. Kg2 Rcc1 58. Rf3+ Kxg4 59. Rg3+ Kh4
