D Gukesh wins six-hour marathon against Nijat Abasov in round 5 of Chess Candidates, joins Ian Nepomniachtchi in lead

India’s chess grandmaster D Gukesh secured a win over Azerbaijan grandmaster Nijat Abasov and leapfrogged to the No. 1 spot at the 2024 Candidates Chess tournament in Toronto, Canada on April 9. The 17-year-old Gukesh managed to win a marathon game against Abasov in Round 5. The game was played for almost six hours and took 87 moves to complete it. Gukesh is the second youngest player to compete at the prestigious Candidates tournament. He is now the joint leader in the Open category with Ian Nepomniachtchi at 3.5 points.

ALSO READ: IPL 2025 mega auction to come up with a big twist, franchises will be allowed to retain these many players instead of four

Praggnanandhaa, Vidit play out draws

Meanwhile, Gukesh’s compatriots R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi were in the driver’s seat at various points of their games against Nepomniachtchi and Fabio Caruana respectively. However, the two experienced players were held to draws by heavily favoured opponents of the Candidates tournament.

Gujrathi had defeated World No. 3 Hikaru Nakamura in the second round but faced straight losses to Praggnanandhaa and Nepomniachtchi in the third and fourth rounds. The draw means that he has managed to end his two-match losing steak.

ALSO READ: Pakistan announce 17-member strong squad with two high profile comebacks for T20I series against New Zealand, ex-security guard too included

In the women’s section, India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu and Humpy Koneru also drew their match against Anna Muzychuk and Aleksandra Goryachkina respectively. All the women’s games ended in draws.

Meanwhile, American chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura finally earned his first win at the tournament after defeating Alireza Firouzja. Notably, Gujesh secured a share of the lead with Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi holding the fourth and sixth sports respectively.

ALSO READ: Rishabh Pant set to be included in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad, Rohit Sharma-led team likely to be announced on this date

Round 5 Match Results

Men: D Gukesh (3.5) beat Nijat Abasov (Aze, 1.5)
Praggnanandhaa (2.5) drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi (FID, 3.5)
Vidit Gujrathi (2) drew with Fabiano Caruana (3)
Alireza Firouza (Fra, 1.5) lost to Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2.5)

Women: R Vaishali (2.5) drew with Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 2)
Koneru Humpy (2) drew with Aleksandra Goriyatchkina (FID, 3)
Tan Zhongyi (Chi, 3.5) drew with Nurgyul Salimova (Bul, 2.5)
Le Tingjie (Chi, 2) drew with Katryena Lagno (FID, 2.5)

MORE ON SPORTS TAK:

IPL 2024 Purple Cap standings: Two PBKS pacers make surprise entry into top 5 despite defeat against SRH, check full list here

Pat Cummins in still not over SRH's new match-winner after defeating PBKS, says ‘To get us to 180 off his own bat was unreal...’

SRH sensation Nitish Kumar Reddy becomes youngest and first uncapped player to achieve this feat in IPL history

Will David Miller be available for clash against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals? Spencher Johnson gives major update

Sunrisers Hyderabad name MI Emirates' young Sri Lankan spinner as Wanindu Hasaranga's replacement for IPL 2024