Lodici Knocks Out Niemann, Rasmus Svane Wins In Armageddon

There are 64 players heading into round three of the 2025 FIDE World Cup. In round two tiebreaks this Thursday, 27 players were eliminated. The upset of the day was GM Lorenzo Lodici's (2572) match win against GM Hans Niemann (2729). Another match went the full distance and reached the first armageddon tiebreak of the event; GM Rasmus Svane prevailed after nine tiebreak games against GM Rauf Mamedov.

The first classical game of round three is on Friday, November 7, starting at 4:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 CET / 3 p.m. IST.

Round 2 Tiebreak Matches

Games, Results, and Bracket.

Seventeen matches ended in the first two games of 15+10. On the top 10 boards, several higher seeds advanced smoothly; GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov (against GM Denis Makhnev) and Vidit Gujrathi (against IM Faustino Oro) drew the first game and won the second, while GM Sam Sevian won with a 2-0 sweep against GM Tin Jingyao.

Vidit eliminated Oro in game two by advancing his queenside majority down the board, with the a-pawn ultimately deciding the game. He commented, "I think I played well to win" in the tiebreaks, adding that it seemed Oro's gameplan was to play solid in the classical portion to reach the faster time controls. At the same time, Vidit said the very first classical game was his opponent's best chance to win:

I feel this was his best chance in the match because I was not warmed up and my position was significantly worse. But somehow he relaxed and allowed me back in the game. That was a big relief for me.

Vidit will play GM Sam Shankland in round three.

Despite winning, Abdusattorov was not satisfied with his performance so far, saying, "I knew that my form is not in the best shape, but I have to go through that and play my best chess," and later adding, "Overall, I am a little bit worried about my form because I don't feel like I'm playing good chess, so I'll have to change something." Still, he's one of the 2700+ players who didn't get knocked out.

Overall, I am a little bit worried about my form.

—Nodirbek Abdusattorov

The Uzbek number-one pointed to 39...Qxe5?? in game two as the critical moment of the match, and he found the combination ending with the key 42.Bc5! to win the game.

Abdusattorov will face GM Jose Martinez next.

The standout match from the 15+10 portion was, as mentioned, the upset of Lodici vs. Niemann. The Italian grandmaster told Chess.com's IM Rakesh Kulkarni that he's working with IM Nico Zwirs, who's remote from the Netherlands, and IM Oliwia Kiolbasa, who's with him in Goa.

He said, "I kind of had the feeling it was going to be a good day" and that "he [Niemann] felt the pressure much more than me and that was kind of what did the trick!" Lodici won the first game and then survived, finally, with a pawn vs. rook endgame in the second.

Lorenzo Lodici on eliminating Hans Niemann:

"I kind of had the feeling it was going to be a good day... [and] he felt the pressure much more than me and that was kind of what did the trick!"#2025FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Agxkly2lc6

— chess24 (@chess24com) November 6, 2025

GM Magnus Carlsen, who briefly joined the broadcast, called it "an absolutely wild game." As if to foreshadow the coming events, Carlsen said around move 29, "It's not one of those positions where you win without counterplay, and to be fair, Niemann is really good at this. He's good at resisting in lost positions."

Niemann is really good at this. He's good at resisting in lost positions.

—Magnus Carlsen

It wasn't a perfect game, but Lodici lost and regained the advantage a handful of times in the opposite-color bishop endgame (with rooks). In the end, he found a pretty combination to finish it off. GM Rafael Leitao goes over the Game of the Day below. 

Lodici plays GM Michael Adams, who won the day's next-to-longest match, in round three.

Three boards down, GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (2585) also pulled an upset against GM Nihal Sarin (2704), a player especially known for his speed-chess prowess and who, just a month ago, crossed the 2700-rating line in classical rating at the age of 21.

The Greek GM first had a winning attack, lost some of the advantage, and finally won with another attack long after the queens were traded. He plays GM Aleksey Grebnev next.

It's not exactly an upset, but GM Nils Grandelius completed his great comeback. He lost the first classical game, won on demand in the second, and finally won the match in the second 15+10 game against GM Etienne Bacrot. While GM Aryan Tari did the same in the classical portion—lost game one, won game two on demand—it was GM "Buddy" Pranav Venkatesh who finally won that match.

There's plenty more to get to, and here's a refresher on the progression of time controls. One match really did reach that last bullet point.

• Two 15+10 games
• If needed, two 10+10 games
• If needed, two 5+3 games
• If needed, two 3+2 games
• If needed, one bidding armageddon game with a base time of 4+2

Of the 10 matches remaining, only three players advanced from the 10+10 portion: GMs Daniil Dubov, Shant Sargsyan, and Gabriel Sargissian.

Dubov, who drew the first two games against GM Bai Jinshi, won both of the 10+10 games. In the first one, 13.Bh4!, leaving his knight en prise, was a sweet tactic to win a pawn, and then he converted the advantage precisely.

Seven matches went to the 5+3 stage and, from those, five players advanced: GMs Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Yu Yangyi, Pouya Idani, S L Narayanan, and Martinez.

On board one, Praggnanandhaa came close to the knife's edge several times against GM Temur Kuybokarov. He was nearly eliminated straight off the bat in the second 15+10 game, where he played an uncharacteristic and unsound piece sacrifice. From a lost position, he slipped out with a draw by perpetual check, by the skin of his teeth. 

The chink in the armor crept up again in the first 10+10 game, however, as Praggnanandhaa grabbed a pawn and blundered the exchange. This time, there was no escape and Kuybokarov took the lead.

From there, however, the Indian super-GM regained his composure—for the most part. The second 10+10 game, which he won on demand with Black, seemed to put wind back in his sails. White, needing only a draw, went for a premature attack against the Pirc with 9.Ng5 and quickly found himself overextended and underdeveloped. Praggnanandhaa won with a little tactic at the end.

The world number-eight won the last two games, though he was lost again at the end of the final game. With both players under 10 seconds, it could have gone either way, but it went to the favorite. You can see the time scramble in the clip below.

Pragg plays GM Robert Hovhannisyan, who eliminated GM Raunak Sadhwani in tiebreaks, next.

Kuybokarov was objectively winning on demand against Praggnanandhaa, but the Indian GM slips out, wins, and advances to round three!https://t.co/zYMuX7fz7s#2025FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/uxuYAYIpuA

— chess24 (@chess24com) November 6, 2025

That left two more matches: Adams vs. GM Ivan Cheparinov and Svane vs. Mamedov.

The English legend only got the better of his opponent in the 3+2 portion. Before that, they drew every game except for when they traded blows in 10+10. There, Adams won the first game but lost the second on time.

Michael Adams, who needed a draw to clinch the match, loses on time! The match continues to 5+3.https://t.co/hQpA5R9FVD#2025FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/cCvvZs4ucU

— chess24 (@chess24com) November 6, 2025

In the 3+2, Adams won both games to take the match. The second was one of the best games of the day—a Pirc Defense that turned into a kind of Sicilian Najdorf. Adams played nearly to perfection, despite the limited time. 26.Be2 was the key move and Adams converted the advantage without a single mistake.

That just leaves the nine-game marathon between Svane and Mamedov. Incredibly, after two draws in the 15+10, all of the games were decisive after that; and, more incredibly, White won all of them.

The pattern was: Svane wins, Mamedov comes back, rinse and repeat. It came down to the final armageddon game, which was won by the thinnest of margins. Mamedov had just reached an opposite-color bishop endgame (with rooks), which should be drawn, when 31...Bf8? gave White one last breath.

Svane looked breathless in the interview, after winning. He quickly said:

I'm just so happy. I thought I completely messed up, I was completely winning after the opening, then I thought I'd blundered even this position to a draw, then I would really have kicked myself because I was already leading two times in the match, but somehow every white game was won!

He will play GM Awonder Liang in the next match.

Looking at who's remaining, we see that 133rd seed GM Titas Stremavicius, who eliminated GM Wesley So, is the lowest seed still going. He had a rest day during these tiebreaks and plays Pranav, who didn't, next.

The 2025 FIDE World Cup, which takes place from November 1 to 26 in Goa, India, determines three spots in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament. It is a 206-player single-elimination knockout tournament with eight rounds. Each match consists of two classical games followed by rapid and blitz tiebreaks if needed. The prize fund is $2 million.

Previous reports:

• Round 2 Game 2: Harikrishna Sacs Queen; Nepomniachtchi, Wesley So, Aravindh Eliminated
• Round 2 Game 1: Arjun, Keymer, Wei, Mamedyarov, Vachier-Lagrave Among Early Leaders
• Round 1 Tiebreaks: 12-Year-Old Oro Among 20 Winners In Tiebreaks
• Round 1 Game 2: IM Shixu Wang Pulls Upset, 20 Matches Go To Tiebreaks
• Round 1 Game 1: Saleh Plays Attack Of The Day, Favorites Prevail In Game 1
• 2025 FIDE World Cup Pairings, Venue Revealed
• Divya Among 6 Players Awarded World Cup Wildcard Spots; Firouzja Not In