FIDE Grand Prix: Vidit's hopes recede; Harikrishna set to exit

Vidit Gujrathi lost the key fifth-round battle to Hungary’s Richard Rapport in 61 moves to stare at exit from Group C of the FIDE Grand Prix chess tournament in Belgrade on Sunday.

FILE PHOTO: With one round to go in the league, Vidit’s future in the tournament rests on beating Vladimir Fedoseev and Alexei Shirov's victory over Richard Rapport.

Vidit Gujrathi lost the key fifth-round battle to Hungary’s Richard Rapport in 61 moves to stare at exit from Group C of the FIDE Grand Prix chess tournament in Belgrade on Sunday.

Vidit held a promising position with white pieces but pressed too hard for victory and crashed to his second loss to Rapport in the competition.

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With one round to go in the league, Vidit’s future in the tournament rests on beating Vladimir Fedoseev and Alexei Shirov's victory over Rapport. In such a scenario, Vidit will get to play the tiebreaker with Rapport for a place in the knockout.

Meanwhile, P. Harikrishna’s elimination stood confirmed from Group B after he drew with Anish Giri in spite of gaining a better position in the middle game of the 31-move encounter.