17-year-old Indian prodigy Gukesh D caught Ian Nepomniachtchi in the lead of the Candidates Tournament 2024 in the fifth round. Gukesh scored his second victory in the tournament to tie with Nepo with 3.5/5 points.
Gukesh D defeated Nijat Abasov yesterday with White pieces. Going out of the Petroff Defence opening, the position was quite balanced but Abasov made a positional mistake with 21…Nxf5? allowing his opponent to take the initiative.
Gukesh gradually improved the advantage eventually transposing to a very drawish Queens endgame with a pawn up. It seemed like Abasov would be able to hold the position, but he missed his chances for a draw and Gukesh scored a full point.
Gukesh D vs Nijat Abasov 1-0
The second decisive game of the yesterday’s round was sawin the match between Alireza Firouzja and Hikaru Nakamura. The position of the Giuoco Piano was mostly around the equality, and the engine even showed a slight advantage for Firouzja in the late middlegame.
The trades transposed the position in an exchange for three pawns, and just when it looked like the draw will be signed soon, Firouzja badly blundered with 62.Kd3?? and resigned in the next move.
Alireza Firouzja vs Hikaru Nakamura 0-1
The fourth round sole leader Ian Nepomniachtchi faced some troubles against Praggnanandhaa. The young Indian was amazingly prepared and it looked like he kicked Nepo out of the book.
Pragg was blitzing out his preparation and sacrificed two pawns in the early part of the game, while Nepo kept spending time to find the correct answers or remember his files. The first inaccuracy game with 20…h6?! played by Ian, and Praggnanandhaa immediately responded with fierce knight sacrifice 27.Nf7!
Both players could have played the next couple of moves better, but it was Pragg who had his chances for a decisive advantage. With the Queens trade, Nepomniachtchi saved the position and kept things equal until the end of the game.
Praggnanandhaa vs Ian Nepomniachtchi 1/2-1/2
The game between Fabiano Caruana and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi opened in an interesting way. Caruana was playing faster, but Vidit was more precise.
Vidit eventually built a better position, but Fabiano tried to neutralize the edge with a tricky quuenside counterplay. Caruana’s attack was unsound and his king was actually in bigger danger but Vidit missed the way to exploit it and the game ended with a threefold repetition.
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi vs Fabiano Caruana 1/2-1/2
Rankings after five played rounds:
| Rk. | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | |
| 1 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2743 | 3.5 |
| 2 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FID | 2758 | 3.5 |
| 3 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2803 | 3 |
| 4 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2747 | 2.5 |
| 5 | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2789 | 2.5 |
| 6 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2727 | 2 |
| 7 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | AZE | 2632 | 1.5 |
| 8 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | FRA | 2760 | 1.5 |
