Day three is on Thursday, July 31, starting at 8 a.m. ET / 14:00 CEST / 5:30 p.m. IST.
The eight players left at this stage will earn at least $85,000, with the chance to win the $250,000 first prize. Eight keys—and hopes of winning the event—were crushed by a machine, as you will see later in this article.
All players start with a key to unlock the trophy. When they win a match, they literally crush their opponent’s key (and dreams) with a machine. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
Group A: Nepomniachtchi Advances
Nepomniachtchi won both matches against his compatriots and made it to the Playoffs.
Nepomniachtchi 1.5-0.5 Artemiev
The first match was very smooth compared to the second. Nepomniachtchi let us in on the match strategy: “I was just trying not to fail miserably like yesterday. That was my only plan.”
There was no trash talk between the two national teammates. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
The two-time world championship challenger essentially won the match in the first game. After Artemiev’s 30…Bxd5? he found an accurate, tactical way to win a pawn and then converted it with an attack against the king.
Nepomniachtchi drew the second game from a position of strength, knowing it was enough to win the match. Artemiev played a Hedgehog setup with the white pieces but didn’t get anything, and it was only really Nepo who was pressing in the middlegame.
As for the upcoming rematch with Esipenko, Nepomniachtchi said: “Hopefully it goes better than yesterday,” and it did. But before that, he crushed his opponent’s key, though only after first asking if he could “delegate this to someone” else.
Esipenko was, without exaggeration, one move away from winning this match. Nepomniachtchi, given a shining opportunity at the end of game two, won on demand from a lost position and then won again in armageddon to steal the spotlight.
Nepomniachtchi was the only player to keep his key after this match. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
Esipenko won game one, after missing one chance but then getting another. When Nepomniachtchi managed to trade queens, he was objectively out of the woods, but there was evidently still venom left in the position. As the commentators put it, Esipenko showed that he had the “Magnus touch” later on, in the pure rook endgame, and pounced on his second chance. 34.g3! was as crushing as it was quiet.
Esipenko was again winning in game two and, as Tania said on the broadcast, all he had to do was take the rook. He overthought it, played an in-between move, and everything backfired. Nepomniachtchi went on to win. As you can see below, he saw some truly dangerous-looking ghosts on 28…Qxe2, even if it was the winning move:
Nepomniachtchi held the draw in armageddon, up a pawn with Black in the end, to win the match and qualify for the Quarterfinals.
He summarized the match: “Game one I almost made it like to the safe harbor. I should have made the draw, but I misplayed the endgame badly and gave like a free point to Andrey… it could easily [have ended] in 2-0.” As for game two, “Sometimes you need some pure luck.”
He doesn’t look forward to playing one player more than another. Instead, Nepomniachtchi’s biggest desire was sleep: “I’m looking forward to seeing my room and my bed mostly because I almost didn’t sleep today.”
Sometimes you need some pure luck.
—Ian Nepomniachtchi
The world’s best players often get lucky. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
Group B: Nihal Advances
Nihal defeated Giri and then Vachier-Lagrave without a single loss.
Nihal 2-0 Giri
Turbulent time scrambles decided both games in Nihal’s favor. He remarked that his experience in bullet chess helped him in such cases: “I have played more bullet than most people except Alireza and Hikaru.”
I have played more bullet than most people except Alireza and Hikaru.
—Nihal Sarin
In game one, Giri dropped a pawn in an otherwise equal bishop endgame.
In the second, a tragic end for the Dutch number-one, Giri won his opponent’s queen but didn’t manage to put the game away in time.
Nihal dodged a bullet there and said, “This game I really don’t want to take any credit. I was just 100%, if not more, lucky… he always kept finding a way to keep my counterplay out and, in the end, when it got into a scramble… he still kept playing extremely good chess and finally his quality pushed through. He just won my queen and he was also playing very fast, okay, I could have easily resigned.”
I could have easily resigned.
—Nihal Sarin
Nihal barely escaped an armageddon tiebreak. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
Miracles do happen, as he said, “The only explanation for this is it can theoretically happen. I am sorry about that.”
Nihal 1.5-0.5 Vachier-Lagrave
Nihal won the second match more convincingly, escaping a bad position in game one and then taking it all in game two.
Not without some “luck,” Nihal was undefeated on day two. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
Vachier-Lagrave nearly won a one-sided game one, but with both players under two minutes the Indian GM slipped out with a draw. He said, “The first game was, at least for this time control, quite good quality for both of us. I was under some pressure, but I think I managed to defend pretty well and also on the clock I was able to hang on.”
As for the next one, which Nihal won, he said, “The second game I was very happy with the position I got out of the opening… Of course he defended very well, like he always does, and I was struggling to convert, and I started getting slight flashbacks of yesterday where I was struggling to convert a pawn up… I, somehow after this …b4 Ne2, I almost accidentally trapped his bishop.” The position there was still equal, but the game ended not too long after:
How does Nihal deal with the nerves? He told Canty, “Against Anish I was extremely lucky in the second game. Otherwise I think I managed to just keep making moves and just try to be calm.” Stay calm and make moves, ladies and gentlemen.
Group C: Nakamura Advances
After Wei won a one-sided match against Sindarov, he lost against Nakamura in the closest match of the day.
Wei 2-0 Sindarov
Wei won the first game in 24 moves, winning a piece and completing the shortest miniature of the day—well, except the mouse slip.
Sindarov told Klein he wasn’t expecting 2.Bc4 at all and “played a bad game,” and that he didn’t get any chances in game two. Wei played the Petroff Defense since he only needed to draw, and he won when Sindarov over-pressed in the rook endgame.
Sindarov said, “Of course he is prepared from the opening and I didn’t find anything. Yeah, it’s I think no chance.” Although he’s “very happy to be here,” Sindarov explained that he must be tired from so many back-to-back tournaments; he played in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas before flying to Saudi Arabia to play in the Last Chance Qualifier for this event, and it exhausted him.
Wei Yi was on fire in the first match. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
Nakamura 2-1 Wei
Wei called Nakmaura “one of the most difficult opponents in this event” before the match, while Nakamura explained his mindset going in: “If I play well, good things will happen. If I don’t play well, bad things happen. It’s very simple.” The fate of both players was determined in a few painstaking and irrevocable seconds.
Nakamura played well enough. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
The two regular games ended in draws, but they were some of the most exciting games of the day. Wei was winning at the end of both—though Nakamura had several of his own chances earlier in the games. The Chinese GM just could not finish the job done in time.
Wei was better by position but not on the clock in game one. After declining a repetition of moves two times—with less time on the clock—he went on to outplay Nakamura. But in the final phase, Black didn’t have enough time to win an otherwise trivially decisive endgame. The world number-two escaped with a draw, his brisk play coming to the rescue for the first time.
Game two was the more dramatic one. Nakamura had outplayed his opponent completely and was winning for most of it, but with both players under one minute he collapsed. He went from losing the advantage to suddenly losing all of his pieces. But his online speed skills saved him with a draw:
When Wei played 58.Kf7, he said, “I realized I had some chances, but the only problem was the time.” Klein pointed out that Wei had eight seconds against four, but Wei responded, “I didn’t realize my time, I just wanted to find the way to win, but maybe that was stupid. I should play faster.”
I should play faster.
—Wei Yi
Commentator Houska pitched her own hot take about the time control:
The armageddon game was the least exciting, but that was good news for Nakamura. He confidently held a draw with Black in a Petroff Defense, with a draw meaning match victory. He said, “It really came down to the first 10 moves. I had some flow and I just moved quickly.”
Nakamura won a nailbiter. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
Nakamura explained afterward, “In the first game I saw the winning move as soon as I played the other move [for one move he had 50.f4! winning]. In the second, it was very choppy.” As for the armageddon, he put emphasis on choosing the right color; in his case, Black for this match. He said, “Usually the player who gets the right color wins the game, so it’s just a matter of moving quickly and not thinking at all.”
I had some flow and I just moved quickly.
—Hikaru Nakamura
Group D: Abdusattorov Advances
Abdusattorov’s mouse-slip gift should not overshadow the fact that he defeated world number-three Caruana in his first match.
Abdusattorov 2-1 Caruana
Before the games, Abdusattorov said, “Compared to yesterday I am feeling great and I look forward to playing better,” and it showed.
Commentator Howell called game one an “opening disaster for Fabiano,” who played a quiet Reti Opening. Abdusattorov took control of the center with the Maroczy Bind formation. The space advantage transformed into a material advantage, and he kept his nerves under control to win the tense endgame with a minute on the clock.
Caruana then won on demand with the black pieces the very next game. Needing only a draw, Abdusattorov played perhaps too ambitiously by pushing his h-pawn up the board in an Alapin Sicilian. Black bit away at the white center, and eventually targeted both the c-pawn and h-pawn in the endgame, one that the world number-three won easily. It was more self-destruction by the Uzbek talent, under nerves, than anything else.
Caruana writes his bid for armageddon after winning on demand. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
Finally, however, Abdusattorov won with White in the armageddon game to advance to the next match. Caruana sacrificed a pawn but held equality for a long time. But after 23…Ne7? 24.d6 Abdusattorov got the chance he needed. From there, he squeezed with the extra pawn. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes below.
Abdusattorov was thrilled, even with another match to go. He said, “I’m extremely happy, first of all, doing this match was extremely hard. I played a good game the first game, but yeah I couldn’t keep my nerves in the second game. I played a horrible opening. In the third game I really held my nerves and played well. Yeah, at the end he was close to holding on, but I managed to swindle in the endgame.”
The job wasn’t finished, though, as he said, “I feel good but its not over yet, so I have another match coming.”
Abdusattorov was the most fortunate player, though he backed it up with skill in his win against Caruana. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
Abdusattorov 2-1 Duda
While making the headline, this match was also the most anticlimactic of the day. After two draws in the regular games, Duda resigned on move five in the armageddon after a decisive mouse slip. This game was the difference between making $65,000 or at least $85,000 in the Quarterfinals.
Duda didn’t wait for his opponent to react and resigned immediately. In an armageddon game, though, Abdusattorov most likely would have to accept the free point; a hypothetical draw offer would have meant elimination for him.
Duda actually said that he mouse slipped in the previous game as well, but on a move that didn’t cost the entire game. The timing of this one was tragic. Abdusattorov said, “It’s quite unbelievable right now. In general I am very happy to qualify for the final eight. This has been an incredibly tough day, it’s going to be even tougher in the Finals.”
A mouse slip sent Duda’s key to the grinder. Photo: 2025 Esports World Cup.
The only player who’s defeated Abdusattorov is Carlsen. And Abdusattorov looks forward to a potential rematch!
That rematch won’t happen just yet, however. You can see the pairings below. Catch it on Thursday!
How to watch?
You can follow the 2025 Esports World Cup games on our Events Page. You can watch live commentary on the Chess.com YouTube and Twitch channels.
The 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, features chess for the first time, with a $1.5 million prize fund and $250,000 for first place, while chess players are also part of esports teams that share a $27 million prize fund. Twelve players qualified for the main event via the Champions Chess Tour, while four qualified in the Last Chance Qualifier (July 24-26) in Riyadh. The main event (July 29-August 1) is first split into four groups of four players. Half of the players will be eliminated before the top eight compete in a knockout Playoff for the top prizes. The time control for all games is 10 minutes, with no increment.
