Viswanathan Anand commented on Pranav V's Chess World Cup campaign, stating that Pranav had a very good run in the tournament. On the day of the loss, Pranav declined a possible repetition and tried to continue with his extra pawn, but it turned out badly.
What happened in the tournament?
Pranav Venkatesh's Chess World Cup 2025 campaign came to an end with a defeat in the second game of the fourth round against Uzbekistan's GM Nodirbek Yakubboev.
Performance analysis
The junior world champion was under pressure from the start and lost in 38 moves, playing with the black pieces. On move 26, he was inaccurate with his queen.
Viswanathan Anand's verdict
Viswanathan Anand praised Pranav's performance, writing on X, "Pranav Venkatesh had a very good run in the World Cup. Today he declined a possible repetition and tried to continue with his extra pawn but this turned out badly.
Future prospects
Nonetheless, Viswanathan Anand noted that it was a very good performance by Pranav and hopefully a sign of more to come. At WACA, they are very happy to have partnered with him in this journey.
Pranav sealed an easy 2-0 win against Algeria's Eddine Ala Boulrens in the opening round and then beat Norwegian GM Aryan Tari.
He won the opening game, and then lost the second. In the decider, he won the opening encounter and then drew the next.
In the third round, he beat Lithuania's Titas Stremavicius.
Their fixture also had a moment of controversy.
The Indian GM didn't write down a few moves on his score sheet, and his opponent made an official complaint to the arbiters.
Three arbiters resolved the issue, warning the Indian GM.
Pranav ended up winning the game, and then drew the next.
Viswanathan Anand congratulated Pranav's Uzbek opponent Nodirbek Yakubboev on reaching the 5th round.
The loss was a heartbreaking end to the 19-year-old's campaign, but also a huge learning experience.