 In the FIDE World Cup 2015, Eljanov knocked out Rinat Jumabayev, Alexander Ipatov, Alexander Grischuk, Dmitry Jakovenko and Hikaru Nakamura to reach the semifinals.Here he was defeated in rapid tiebreaks by the eventual winner, Sergey Karjakin.This result enabled Eljanov to qualify to play in the FIDE Grand Prix series 2017.