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Wei Yi Joins Sindarov In World Cup Final After Esipenko Blunders Rook
Wei Yi marches into the World Cup Final and the Candidates after a shell-shocked Esipenko blundered a rook. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Wei Yi Joins Sindarov In World Cup Final After Esipenko Blunders Rook

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Colin_McGourty
| 111 | Chess Event Coverage

GM Andrey Esipenko was on course to qualify for the 2025 FIDE World Cup Final and the Candidates but first missed a win and then blundered a whole rook in the next move against GM Wei Yi. The Chinese star will face GM Javokhir Sindarov, after the 19-year-old first ground out a win with Black and then withstood a great fight by GM Nodirbek Yakubboev in the second game. Yakubboev plays Esipenko for the final spot in the Candidates in the third-place match.

The final and third-place matches start on Monday, November 24, at 4:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 CET / 3 p.m. IST.

2025 FIDE World Cup Bracket

Both semifinal matches were over in two tiebreak games as Sindarov and Wei Yi won 2.5-1.5 to reach the Final. $120,000 is up for grabs for the winner, but arguably the third-place match will be more anticipated, as Yakubboev and Esipenko battle it out for the final Candidates spot.

Games, Results, and Bracket.

Wei Yi 2.5-1.5 Esipenko (1.5-0.5 in tiebreaks)

"In both classical games, my opponent just played better than me," Wei confessed in his post-match interview, but in both cases he held to make a draw.

The tiebreaks were very different, with Wei having repaired his Petroff Defense for the first 15+10 game. He gained the advantage in an endgame and could have pushed near the very end with 33...Bd6! (or 35...Bd6!), but instead, low on time, he went for a draw by repetition after 33...Bf4.

The game had earlier gone in Wei's favor after a clever queen trade backfired on Esipenko.

"Maybe I can play for the win, but it's not so easy," Wei would later comment, and he had no reason to be too upset, since he would have the white pieces in the second tiebreak game.

Esipenko after escaping a tricky position. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Initially everything went well for the Chinese number-one, but he noted Esipenko's "defense was so good," and when Wei missed one move (40...Rb8!), he found himself suddenly worse and with under a minute on the clock.

Things escalated fast as Wei ended up two pawns down and, on move 55, he made a losing move with one second to spare. Esipenko missed the less-than-obvious chance, however, and Wei's next move, also played with one second to spare, was the potential game-saver 56.Ne3!.

Wei was threatening Nd5+ and the capture of the c7-pawn, but Black has decent tries and Wei commented, "In the final position, only Black can fight for the win."

Nd5 wasn't the only threat, however, and, after 15 seconds, Esipenko played 56...c6??, momentarily forgetting the rook on g2 was under attack. He realized instantly what he'd done, but it was too late.

He kept sitting at the board long after Wei had left.

Sometimes chess is the loneliest of games. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

That's our Game of the Day, which GM Dejan Bojkov analyzes below.


Wei had not only reached the World Cup final but, over a decade after sensationally crossing 2700 as a 15-year-old, he'd qualified for his first Candidates Tournament.

Wei noted at the press conference:

Even when I was very young and maybe already 2700, it was not very easy to qualify to the Candidates. I think now it’s even more difficult because there are many young and strong players.

Wei Yi is currently ninth in the world rankings, so a fitting addition to the Candidates Tournament. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

One of those is 19-year-old Sindarov, who confirmed his spot in the Candidates almost simultaneously with Wei.

Sindarov 2.5-1.5 Yakubboev (1.5-0.5 in tiebreaks)

The all-Uzbek clash had seen two quiet draws in classical chess, with Sindarov explaining, "I was thinking he’s too solid and he prepares very well," so he decided to put the emphasis on rapid chess. 

It worked to perfection, as in both rapid games he emerged with a clear advantage out of the opening, despite Yakubboev being the player to choose a rare line in the first game.

It was always going to be an uphill battle for Yakubboev after Sindarov won the first game. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Sindarov traded down into a superior endgame and ultimately ground out a win by taking advantage of Yakubboev's troubles on the clock. After 31...Re6 Yakubboev had just 43 seconds against six minutes and 32 seconds—it proved too great a handicap!

That left Yakubboev with the toughest task in chess—needing to win on demand with the black pieces. He switched from his usual 1...e5 to play the Sicilian with 1...c5, and in a way he got all he could hope for as Sindarov didn't try to shut things down but went for a sharp response with kingside pawn pushes.

The downside to that was that Sindarov knew exactly what he was doing and went on to build up a seemingly crushing advantage.

Yakubboev wasn't out yet, however, and after 15.Bd4! he went for a fine exchange sacrifice that set the board on fire. At some point he was even briefly better, objectively speaking, though Sindarov mainly had things under control as he went on to clinch the draw he needed.

"I’m very happy but sad for my friend," said Sindarov of his win, which he said completed the "big plan to qualify for the Candidates."

I'm very happy but sad for my friend.

—Javokhir Sindarov

Sindarov took no pleasure from beating a friend. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

19-year-old Sindarov, who turns 20 in a couple of weeks, is now set to be the youngest player in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament that takes place in Cyprus from March 28 to April 16.   

2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament

# Player FED Age Rating (Nov 25) World Rank Qualified Via
1 Fabiano Caruana 33 2795 3 2024 FIDE Circuit (Winner)
2 Anish Giri 31 2769 5 Grand Swiss (Winner)
3 Matthias Bluebaum 28 2680 43 Grand Swiss (Runner-Up)
4 Javokhir Sindarov 19 2721 25 World Cup (Finalist)
5 Wei Yi 26 2752 11 World Cup (Finalist)
6 Yakubboev/Esipenko 23 World Cup (3rd Place Match)
7 Praggnanandhaa *  20 2768 7 2025 FIDE Circuit
8 Hikaru Nakamura * 37 2813 2 Rating

* still to be confirmed

GM Hikaru Nakamura's spot is only pending GM Magnus Carlsen not deciding to play 24 classical games before the end of the year and take the rating spot, while GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu has a 57-point lead over GM Vincent Keymer in the FIDE Circuit and is unlikely to need any more points before the end of the year. His appearance in London is mainly to ensure his top scores in round-robin tournaments will count, though of course he can add some points along the way! 

The remaining candidate will be a 23-year-old, as Yakubboev takes on Esipenko in the third-place match for the last remaining spot and $60,000 (fourth place is a $50,000 consolation prize).

Sindarov was greeted after the win by his brother and also his second, GM Mukhiddin Madaminov. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

The Final is for $120,000, with $85,000 for the runner-up, but both players have a sense of "job done" already. Wei noted he'd "already achieved one of the goals of the tournament," though he expects "a very tough fight" in the Final.

Ding Liren twice finished runner-up in the World Cup—can Wei Yi be the first Chinese player to win it? Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Sindarov, armed with "lots of sweets, chocolate, and national food" brought by his brother, outlined his plan: "Right now I will just try to chill and play my good game against Wei Yi too!" 

How to watch?
You can watch the event on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on Chess24, on Twitch, or YouTube. Games from the event can be viewed on our events page.

The live broadcast was hosted by GMs Judit Polgar and David Howell, and IM Anna Rudolf.

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:

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Colin McGourty

Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.

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