Overview
- Frederik Svane eliminated D Gukesh 1.5–0.5, converting a knight-and-pawn endgame after a drawn first game to reach Round 4.
- Svane called the result "unbelievable" in a post-game interview, noting it was his biggest scalp and his first advance to the last-32 at a World Cup.
- Indian grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Pentala Harikrishna and V. Pranav advanced, while Vidit Gujrathi, Karthik Venkataraman and S. Narayanan go to Sunday tiebreaks.
- Round 3 produced a cascade of upsets, with top seeds Anish Giri and Nodirbek Abdusattorov among those knocked out, as Germany’s Keymer, Bluebaum, Donchenko and Svane all progressed.
- The Goa event is a 206-player knockout awarding three 2026 Candidates berths, with rapid and blitz tiebreaks scheduled where matches remain level.