The Pole has advanced to the next round of the World Cup. This is the second time

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Monday's tiebreakers began with rapid chess matches at a rate of 15 minutes per game plus 10 seconds after each move.

Piorun first defeated the Russian grandmaster Sergei Lobanov, playing under the FIDE flag, with white after 60 moves, and in the rematch with black he achieved a draw after 64 moves and won the match 2.5:1.5.

The two-time Polish classical chess champion and current rapid and blitz champion advanced to the second round for the second time in his fifth World Cup appearance. His furthest run was in Sochi in 2021, when he stopped in the round of 16, losing 4-2 in overtime to Frenchman Etienne Bacrot.

Now, seeded 122nd in the tournament, the nearly 34-year-old grandmaster from Łowicz faces an extremely difficult task. He will face the seventh-seeded Chinese grandmaster Yi Wei, currently ranked 11th in the world.

Bartel began the tiebreak by losing as Black to International Master Aronyak Ghosh of India after 19 moves. He then retaliated with White, winning after 35 moves and leveling the match at 2-2.

In the second round of tiebreaks, the game was played at a rate of 10 minutes per game plus 10 seconds after each move. The four-time Polish champion lost both games of this shortened duel and the entire match 2-4. In the drawn ending of the first game, after an error by his opponent, he couldn't find a move that could win him, and in the rematch, White's imprecise 20th queen move exposed him and his rook to a simultaneous attack by his opponent's knight.

The second round of the 128-player tournament will begin on Tuesday at the Rio Resort in Goa. The third-seeded Pole, Radosław Wojtaszek, will play. He will face French grandmaster Maxime Lagarde.

The prize pool for the competition, which concludes on November 26th, is $2 million. The top three places in the 11th annual event will earn participation in next year's Candidates' Tournament and cash prizes of $120,000, $85,000, and $60,000. For participating in individual rounds, participants receive $3.50, $7,000, $11, $17, $25, $35, and $50,000.

206 participants competed in this year's most prestigious tournament in the royal game. The tournament is played in a knockout format. Matches consist of two classic games, with accelerated playoffs taking place in the event of a draw on the third day.

Source of information: Polish Press Agency