Maqsoudlou into last 16 at Chess World Cup
Iranian grandmaster Parham Maqsoudlou secure a last-16 spot at the 2025 FIDE World Cup in Goa, India.
No. 33 in the latest FIDE world ranking, Maqsoudlou defeated Croatian GM Ivan Saric 1.5-0.5 to advance to the fourth round, which starts on Tuesday.
The two played to a stalemate in the first encounter before the 25-year-old Iranian triumphed in the second matchup.
As a top-50 seed in the tournament, Maqsoudlou was given a bye in the first round and then beat Russian Alexander Motylev, who represents Romania in Goa, in the second round.
The tournament is an eight-round knockout event. The losers of the two semifinals will play a match for third place. The players who finish first, second, and third qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2026, a tournament to decide the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2026.
Matches consist of two classical games, followed by rapid and blitz tiebreaks if needed.