Unexpected wins in Round 1 of the 2023 FIDE World Cup
Author: Maria Fragaki
The 2023 FIDE World Cup kicked off yesterday in Baku, Azerbaijan, displaying some surprising results and a lot of turbulent games in the top boards. Round 2 starts today at 3 PM local time with the top 50 players in the Open and the top 25 in the Women’s section joining the event.
The World Cup’s first round commenced yesterday in Baku with a total of 228 players vying for the top three spots in each group – Open and Women’s tournaments. These coveted positions would grant them entry into the Candidates tournament, the final qualifying stage to determine the next challenger for the World Champion title.
Round one witnessed a total of 114 games – 76 in the Open tournament and 38 in the Women’s tournament, with the top 50 players in the Open – Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Anish Giri, Wesley So, Teimour Radjabov, Dommaraju Gukesh, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Maxime Vachier-Lagrav and more – and the top 25 in the Women’s section – Ju Wenjun, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Humpy Koneru, Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Elisabeth Paehtz, Tan Zhongyi, Nana Dzagnidze, Mariya Muzychuk, Anna Muzychuk, Harika Dronavalli and more – joining the event from the second round, as per regulations.
The biggest surprise of Round 1 was the youngest participant in the tournament, 14-year-old Turkish IM Ediz Gurel (2500), who scored the first victory in the 2023 World Cup against the more experienced Serbian GM Velimir Ivic (2590) after a brilliant piece sacrifice, leading to an inevitable checkmate on move 21. Fun fact is that Ediz secured his spot in the FIDE World Cup by beating Velimir in the final round of the European Individual Championship!
Notably, another surprise occurred among the 2600-rated players, as Montenegro’s Denis Kadric suffered defeat at the hands of Chilean Grandmaster Pablo Salinas Herrera, who held a significantly lower rating.
Further upsets unfolded in the Open section, with Mongolia’s Ganzorig Amartuvshin (2407) securing a victory against the top Spanish GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (2612) with the Black pieces. Additionally, Iran’s Pouria Darini (2412) prevailed over Hungary’s Ferenc Berkes (2615).
In the Women’s tournament, no major surprises occurred, with the Dutch Women’s Champion, Eline Roebers, triumphing over the Iraqi Yamama Asif Abdula Al-Fayyadh who played 20 moves with a piece deficit!
