The fifth round of the Superbet Classic chess tournament saw no decisive results, with all five matches ending in draws. Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, who has been known for his accurate calculations and tactical prowess, again missed out on a winning position, settling for a draw against American Wesley So.
Despite missing a technically winning endgame against Gukesh in the previous round, Wesley So found himself lucky as Praggnanandhaa missed a crucial maneuver. Inspired by the presence of Garry Kasparov in the playing hall, Praggnanandhaa chose the King’s Indian defense as black, facing the Fianchetto variation. While he managed to maintain balance, Wesley’s ambition towards the final stages of the middle game presented Praggnanandhaa with an opportunity to penetrate his king side decisively. However, Wesley managed to survive.
Gukesh also had a chance against Nodirbek Abdusattorov through a tactical stroke that would have ensured a long-term advantage. However, he missed the opportunity and the game ended in a draw.
Fabiano Caruana, currently in the lead with 3.5 points, displayed his opening expertise against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a Ruy Lopez open. Caruana employed a little-known variation as black, highlighting his deep preparation. Vachier-Lagrave chose not to push his chances and settled for a draw through repetition in just 28 moves.
The lead positions remained unchanged with Caruana leading with 3.5 points, enjoying a half point lead over world championship challenger D Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa. French duo of Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia and Wesley share the third spot on 2.5 points each, a half point ahead of Anish Giri of Holland and Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan. Local hopeful Deac Bogdan-Daniel is still at the bottom with 1.5 points.
The 10-player double round-robin event, offering USD 350000 as prize money, will continue on Tuesday after a rest day on Monday.
