India’s 17-year-old D Gukesh managed to secure victory over Nijat Abasov in a queen endgame to surge to the top of the standings of the Open section at the Candidates. The 17-year-old from India managed to win a marathon game against Abasov in Round 5 which played on for almost six hours and saw 87 moves being made.
Gukesh, the second youngest player ever to compete at the prestigious Candidates tournament, is now the joint leader in the Open category with Ian Nepomniachtchi at 3.5 points.
Meanwhile, Gukesh’s compatriots Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi were both held to draws by heavily favoured opponents of the Candidates tournament.
Both players were in the driver’s seat at various points of their games, but could not press on to seize the victory. While Pragg was held to a draw by two-time Candidates winner Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vidit was held by World No 2 Fabiano Caruana. In the Praggnanandhaa R vs Nepomniachtchi game, the Indian teenager had forced the Russian under massive time pressure with his excellent opening prep.
