Drama at Chess World Cup! Lithuania's GM raises complaint against India's Pranav V: Here's what happened

There was unexpected drama at the FIDE World Cup 2025 on Friday when Lithuania’s Grandmaster Titas Stremavicius raised a complaint against India’s young talent Pranav V during their third-round encounter. The issue? Pranav allegedly made several moves without recording them on his scoresheet, which is a violation of chess regulations that require players to note down each move.

The situation even required the involvement of a third arbiter to resolve the dispute. However, the matter was quickly settled, and the game resumed after Pranav received a formal warning.


Explaining the incident later, the 19-year-old Indian admitted he wasn’t fully aware of the specific rule.

“I did not know this, but you cannot make, like, I think, three moves without writing,” Pranav told Chess24 after securing victory over Stremavicius to take the lead in the third-round match.

Despite the brief interruption, Pranav kept his composure and went on to win the game, strengthening India’s impressive showing in the tournament.

Elsewhere, Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna delivered commanding victories with the white pieces, while world champion D Gukesh was held to a draw with black in the opening game of Round 3.

Arjun, the highest-ranked Indian in the competition, produced a near-flawless display to defeat Uzbekistan’s Shamsiddin Vokhidov in just 30 moves.

Harikrishna, meanwhile, stunned Belgium’s Daniel Dardha in 25 moves after springing a surprise in the Sicilian Classical variation.

“I had prepared something new,” Harikrishna added. “My opponent missed a few ideas, and the position collapsed quickly.”

Among other Indians, R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, and Gukesh all settled for draws with black pieces.

The trio will look to press for wins with white on Saturday to secure their place in the fourth round.

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