Overview
- Indian No. 2 Vidit Gujrathi drew with 12-year-old IM Faustino Oro in their Round 2 opener, with the return classical game set for Wednesday.
- Levon Aronian defeated India’s IM Aronyak Ghosh in Game 1, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave beat GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly.
- GM S L Narayanan held GM Nikita Vitiugov to a draw in Game 1, while other top Indians including D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and R. Praggnanandhaa began their campaigns after first-round byes.
- Seventeen Indians reached Round 2 after Round 1 and tiebreaks, with GM S L Narayanan, GM Diptayan Ghosh and IM Aronyak Ghosh advancing on Monday’s rapid sets.
- Tiebreaks also produced a headline result as Argentina’s Oro eliminated GM Ante Brkic to set up the meeting with Vidit at the Goa-hosted World Cup running November 1–26.