World Cup Round 2: A Few Upsets and an Armageddon!

Ukranian GM Alexander Areshchenko, who knocked out none other than Levon Aronian! (Picture Source:  bakuworldcup2015.com)
Ukranian GM Alexander Areshchenko, who knocked out none other than Levon Aronian! (Picture Source: bakuworldcup2015.com)

The Round 2 of the FIDE World Cup 2015 turned out to be an exciting affair with many intense match-ups and a few upsets. Particularly, it was the Adams-Laznicka encounter that hogged the limelight in the ‘Round of 64’.

Adams-Laznicka
After winning one game each in the Classical Match, the two players continued to exchange blows in the Tie-Breaks as well. In fact, their first draw came only in the 7th game of their personal match. With nothing to separate the two, the players entered into an Armageddon game with Adams having the White pieces. The Armageddon, however, turned out to be anti-climax of sorts with Laznicka going down without any resistance whatsoever, thus enabling Adams to book a spot in Round 3.

Meanwhile, two other matches – Wei Yi vs Yuri Vovk and Fressinet vs Nepomniachtchi – were decided just prior to the Armageddon. Wei Yi and Nepomniachtchi came out victorious in these hard-fought matches.

The Round 2 also witnessed the departure of several notable players including Aronian, Harikrishna, Wang Hao and Navara.

Aronian-Areshchenko
With former world No. 2 Levon Aronian proving unsuccessful in breaching the defences of Areshchenko in the Classical games, the match entered the tie-breaks. However, in total contrary to the odds, Areshchenko beat Aronian 2-0 in the rapid games to create the biggest upset of Round 2.

Harikrishna-Sethuraman
P. Harikrishna, World No. 21 and India’s best bet at the World Cup, was knocked out by compatriot S. P. Sethuraman in the Classical Section itself. After Harikrishna failed to make most of the White pieces in Game 1, Sethuraman successfully broke Harikrishna’s Berlin Wall in Game 2 to storm into the 3rd Round. Sethuraman will next face World No.22 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who knocked out Women’s World No.1 Hou Yifan in Round 3.

Detailed Round 2 Results: Here

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