19-year-old GM Javokhir Sindarov‘s relentless pressure finally gave him a win over GM Frederik Svane as round five of the 2025 FIDE World Cup began. All the remaining games were drawn, with GM Levon Aronian surviving a fierce attack by GM Arjun Erigaisi in the most anticipated match-up of the round, while GM Daniil Dubov failed to exploit GM Sam Shankland rejecting a draw offer and taking some risky choices.
Game two of round five is on Saturday, November 15, starting at 4:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 CET / 3 p.m. IST.
This is a flash report—come back later for full coverage of all the day’s action!
Round 5 Results
It was the calm after the storm in Goa, with eight draws looking a strong possibility until Svane finally cracked against Sindarov.
| Fed | Player 1 | Rating | – | Fed | Player 2 | Rating | G1 | G2 | TB |
| Javokhir Sindarov (16) | 2721 | – | Frederik Svane (64) | 2640 | 1-0 | ||||
| Jose Martinez (57) | 2644 | – | Pentala Harikrishna (24) | 2690 | ½-½ | ||||
| Gabriel Sargissian (76) | 2616 | – | Nodirbek Yakubboev (28) | 2689 | ½-½ | ||||
| Alexander Donchenko (61) | 2641 | – | Liem Le (13) | 2729 | ½-½ | ||||
| Sam Shankland (46) | 2649 | – | Daniil Dubov (30) | 2674 | ½-½ | ||||
| Andrey Esipenko (27) | 2681 | – | Aleksey Grebnev (86) | 2617 | ½-½ | ||||
| Samuel Sevian (23) | 2701 | – | Wei Yi (7) | 2753 | ½-½ | ||||
| Arjun Erigaisi (2) | 2769 | – | Levon Aronian (15) | 2728 | ½-½ |
Our Game of the Day is Sindarov’s win over Svane, which GM Rafael Leitao will analyze below.
The players are battling to reach the FIDE World Cup Quarterfinals.
2025 FIDE World Cup Bracket: Round 5 Onward
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 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 4 Tiebreaks: Arjun Strides On As Pragg, Keymer, MVL, Rapport Lead World Cup Exodus
- Round 4 Game 2: Donchenko, Martinez Continue Giant-Killing As 11 Matches Go To Tiebreaks
- Round 4 Game 1: Aronian, Martinez Strike As Praggnanandhaa Escapes Vs. Dubov
- Round 3 Tiebreaks: Vachier-Lagrave Wins Marathon Match In Armageddon
- Round 3 Game 2: World Champion Gukesh Eliminated By Frederik Svane; Giri, Abdusattorov Also Out
- Round 3 Game 1: Martinez Upsets Abdusattorov With Black Pieces
- Round 2 Tiebreaks: Lodici Knocks Out Niemann, Rasmus Svane Wins In Armageddon
- 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
