Boring draw pushes Chess World Cup final into tiebreakers

The title of the FIDE Chess World Cup will be decided in tiebreakers tomorrow as Wei Yi and Javokhir Sindarov hurriedly wrapped up their second classical game in Goa on Tuesday.

The match is level on a point as both classical games in the final match ended in draws. Unlike the first game on Monday, which gave the Chinese GM a slight chance, the second game was devoid of drama.

Both players were in a rush to cancel each other out. Both sets of knights were off the table by move 7, and the queens were exchanged in the 10th move. By move 22, Yi and Sindarov were left with a bishop and six pawns each.

The game was a dead draw already, but the rules required the players to complete at least 30 moves before agreeing to split a point, which is what they did.

Yi and Sindarov are playing for their maiden World Cup title. The tiebreakers will begin with a pair of Rapid games.

Yi had defeated Uzbekistan's breakout star Sindarov in their league meeting in the Asian Games in 2023. Yi won gold and Sindarov claimed bronze in the Asiad.