FIDE World Cup 2025: Stalemates Force Both Semifinals Into Tiebreaks

Both semifinals of the FIDE World Cup 2025 will head to tiebreaks after another round of draws in Panaji on Saturday. Chinese GM Wei Yi survived time pressure once again against GM Andrey Esipenko and defended accurately with the black pieces before the players agreed to a draw after 37 moves.

In the other semifinal, Uzbek stars GM Nodirbek Yakubboev and GM Javokhir Sindarov continued their solid approach, drawing comfortably after 30 moves. With both matches ending in draws on consecutive days, all four grandmasters remain level at 1-1 heading into the crucial tiebreak stage.