FIDE World Cup: Vidit Gujrathi loses to Nijat Abasov, crashes out in quarterfinals

Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov continued his winning run and beat India’s Vidit Gujrathi to knock him from the FIDE World Cup on Wednesday in Baku.

FILE PHOTO: Vidit Santosh Gujrathi of India. | Photo Credit: VELANKANNI RAJ/The Hindu

Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov continued his winning run and beat India’s Vidit Gujrathi to knock him from the FIDE World Cup on Wednesday in Baku.

Abasov checkmated Gujrathi with white pieces in 42 moves to confirm his semifinal slot in the tournament.

AS IT HAPPENED | FIDE WORLD CUP 2023 LIVE

Abasov, on his way to the quarterfinal, already had defeated Laurent Fressinet, World No. 7 Anish Giri, three-time world championship challenger Peter Svidler and UAE No. 1 Salem Saleh before eliminating Vidit. 

Earlier, both players played out a hard-fought 109-moves draw in the 6.1 round.

With this win, Abasov also secured his spot in the Candidates tournament after Magnus Carlsen confirmed that we would not play in the marquee event. 

VIDIT vs ABASOV LIVE MOVE-BY-MOVE INTERACTIVE