Overview
- Twenty players won tiebreaks on Monday, including 12-year-old IM Faustino Oro and IM Aronyak Ghosh, to close Round 1.
- With 58 earlier classical winners plus 20 tiebreak qualifiers, 78 players advance to join 50 top seeds for Round 2.
- India’s SL Narayanan and Diptayan Ghosh swept their rapid tiebreaks, and Aronyak Ghosh outlasted GM Mateusz Bartel 4–2 to progress.
- Round 2 pairings feature major tests: Aronyak Ghosh vs Levon Aronian, Diptayan Ghosh vs Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Surya Shekhar Ganguly vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
- Top Indian seeds enter as well, with Gukesh vs Kazybek Nogerbek, Praggnanandhaa vs Temur Kuybokarov, and Vidit Gujrathi vs Faustino Oro; the Goa event awards three Candidates berths and a $2 million purse.