Bangladesh's International Masters Manon Reza Neer and Fahad Rahman were eliminated from first round of the ongoing FIDE World Chess Cup 2025 in India on Sunday after contrasting results in their second encounters.
Neer, rated 2360, had impressed on the opening day by holding Norway's Grandmaster Aryan Tari (2631) to a draw. However, he fell short in the second match, losing to the higher-rated opponent after a marathon 79-move contest. Playing with the black pieces, Neer opted for the French Variation of the Sicilian Defense but was eventually outmaneuvered. Having scored only half a point from the two classical games, Neer could not progress to the next round.
The World Cup follows a knockout format, with each match consisting of two classical games followed by tiebreakers if required.
Meanwhile, Fahad, rated 2414, showed resilience after losing his first game to Ukraine's Grandmaster Vasyl Ivanchuk (2616). Playing with the black pieces in his second attempt, he employed the Slav Defense and held Ivanchuk to a 30-move draw. However, with a total of half a point from the two games, Fahad's campaign also came to an end.