China's Wei Yi slipped up slightly against Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan in the first classical game of their FIDE Chess World Cup final match in Goa on Monday.

The first game ended in a draw and the Chinese, who won the Asian Games gold in 2023, will play white in Tuesday's second classical game. The winner of that game will be crowned the new World Cup winner. If the match is level after tomorrow, tiebreakers will be used on Wednesday to determine the champion.

Yi played black in the first game and got himself to an advantageous position in the middle game after the queens were traded off. But Sindarov equalised, and the game proceeded to a bishop end game, with Yi having a passed pawn. However, Sindarov defended well to settle for a theoretical draw.

Meanwhile, Andrey Esipenko secured a win with white against Nodirbek Yakubboev in their first game in the third-place match. A draw in the second game on Tuesday will be enough for Esipenko to take bronze.

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The two finalists and the third-place finisher will qualify for the Candidates Tournament, which will decide the contender for World Champion D Gukesh.

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