Chess outsiders triumph at World Cup in Goa and battle for Candidates spots

The $2m World Cup in Goa will be remembered as an event where established stars were humbled and knocked out by supposedly lesser lights. At 26, China’s Wei Yi is the oldest in Friday’s semi-finals. He was once a prodigy, renowned for his brilliant attacking style and the youngest to surpass an elite 2700 rating, but then opted to take a six-year break from chess to study economics and management, which he says he does not regret. He made a statement return in 2024, winning the “chess Wimbledon” at Wijk aan Zee, and the 2026 Candidates is his main target. The World Cup pairings matched Wei in the quarter-finals against the last surviving Indian and No 2 seed, Arjun Erigaisi. After three draws, Wei won a 79-move marathon in which Erigaisi played on until checkmate. Wei’s Russian semi-final opponent Andrey Esipenko, 23, is his country’s leading young grandmaster, who is now challenging the dominance of the older generation led by Ian Nepomniachtchi and Alexander Grischuk. In the quarter-finals he eliminated the last American, Sam Shankland, with the rare plan against the Philidor 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d6 of b3 and Bb2 followed by queen’s side castling. The youngest semi-finalist Javokhir Sindarov, 19, is on the fringe of the world elite and has demonstrated his potential in previous major events. Uzbekistan succeeded even though its top player, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, was knocked out early and will now play in the London Classic at the Emirates Stadium which starts next Wednesday, 26 November. It is an all-Uzbek semi-final as Sindarov’s opponent is Nodirbek Yakubboev, 23, whose refusal, for religious reasons, to shake hands with India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu at the start of their game at Wijk aan Zee made headlines. He later apologised with chocolate and flowers. Yakubboev has had the easiest route to the semi-finals, and as a Candidate would probably be destined to emulate Nijat Abasov, who in 2024 was a punchbag for the major contenders. Friday’s World Cup semi-finals can be followed live for free (9.30am GMT start) on lichess, with instructive move-by-move computer assessments and analysis, and on chess.com, with commentary by England’s top female player, Jovanka Houska. Linares, Spain used to be an iconic location for chess. Its annual elite grandmasters tournament attracted the very top players. Draws were discouraged. Highlights included Garry Kasparov’s Immortal against Veselin Topalov in 1999, and 1994 when Kasparov broke the touch-move rule against Judit Polgar and Anatoly Karpov headed Kasparov in arguably the strongest tournament of all time. Related: Outsiders sense Chess World Cup glory after host of big names make early exits The elite Linares series ended in 2010, but now the Andalusian town has returned as a chess venue with the current Women’s World Team Championship. The Fide president, Arkady Dvorkovich, has his critics, but he has a keen feel for chess history and instigated the start of play with a gong, as was the old Linares tradition. Some of the teams are missing their best players, but the event marks a rare comeback for Hou Yifan, the second-strongest female player of all time. Hou won her first game smoothly, but the likely winners of the entire event are the so-called Fide team, which is actually the full-strength Russian squad playing their first team tournament since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On Sunday, the UK Open Blitz Championship finals take place at Leamington Spa, and will be covered by online commentaries. GM Gawain Jones is the top seed and favourite in the Open, although GM Eldar Gasanov, the 2023 and 2024 winner, is sure to make a bid to retain his title. In the Women’s Championship, 10-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan is top seeded after missing the title narrowly in 2023 and 2024. 3999: 1…f2! 2 Qxg5 Qh1+! 3 Kxh1 f1=Q+ 4 Kh2 Rf2+ 5 Kg3 Rf3+ 6 Kg4 Qxh3 mate.