D. Gukesh produced a clinical finish to tame World championship finalist and top Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi in the fifth round of the Tata Steel Masters at Wijk aan Zee, near Amsterdam, on Thursday.
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Bouncing back from two successive defeats, Gukesh (2.5 points) was determined after a day of rest, spotted a blunder from his famed rival on the 34th move and proceeded to win in style in 49 moves for his second victory in the premier competition.
R. Praggnanandhaa (3) drew with leader Anish Giri (4) while Vidit Gujrathi (2.5) split the point with local Max Warmerdam (2.5) on a day when women’s World champion Ju Wenjun stunned Alireza Firouzja.
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In the Challengers section, Leon Mendonca (3) defeated senior compatriot D. Harika (1.5) while Divya Deshmukh (1.5) lost to Turkey’s Mustafa Yilmaz (2.5). The 17-year-old Dutch women’s champion Eline Roebers (1) opened her account by inflicting a sensational defeat on USA’s Hans Moke Niemann (3).
The results, fifth round:
Masters: R. Praggnanandhaa (3) drew with Anish Giri (Ned, 4); D. Gukesh (2.5) bt Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE, 2.5); Vidit Gujrathi (2.5) drew with Max Warmerdam (Ned, 2.5); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 3) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 3); Ju Wenjun (Chn, 2) bt Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 3); Parham Maghsoodloo (Iri, 1) drew with Ding Liren (Chn, 2.5); Alexander Donchenko (Ger, 1.5) drew with Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 2).
Challengers: D. Harika (1.5) lost to Leon Mendonca (3); Divya Deshmukh (1.5) lost to Mustafa Yilmaz (Tur, 2.5); Marc Andria Maurizzi (Fra, 3) bt Jaime Santos Latasa (Esp, 2.5); Eline Roebers (Ned, 1) bt Hans Moke Niemann (3); Daniel Dardha (Bel, 2.5) drew with Anton Korobov (Ukr, 3.5); Erwin L’Ami (Ned, 4) bt Stefan Beukema (Bel, 2); Salem Saleh (UAE, 3) bt Liam Vrolijk (Ned, 2).