Andorra Open - Round 5: Shimanov and Sumets lead with 4½ points.

As happened in the previous round, the balance on the top boards has been maximal, and it is very difficult to achieve a victory.
On board 1, Spanish International Master Daniel García managed to secure a creditable draw with the black pieces against Grandmaster Aryan Tari, continuing his good results, as just yesterday he also drew with Aleksandr Shimanov.
The game, a variant of the advance to combat the Caro-Kann, was quite complicated, but the Norwegian player missed a very good opportunity to gain a decisive advantage on move 13 when Black captured the typical b2 pawn with the queen. Instead of 13. Rc1?, 13. Nge4! would have left Black in a very delicate position. After that, he had a few more opportunities, though not as clear, but the Spanish player, through a queen sacrifice for a piece + rook, found a way to defend and eventually agreed to a draw.

On the second board, the reigning champion GM Cristóbal Henríquez, with the black pieces, couldn't find a way to imbalance the solid structure set up by International Master Ruben Domingo (ESP). After the opening, there were frequent piece exchanges, and the game ended in a draw once they reached the endgame with rooks.

On board 4, there wasn’t much action either. A solid theoretical line to combat the Najdorf led to a draw between IM Maciej Czopor (POL) and GM Mads Andersen (DEN).

The game between FM Sohum Lohia (ENG) and GM Danyyil Dvirnyy (ITA) was much more spectacular for the spectators, but in reality, both players chose a theoretical line from a secondary variation of the Caro-Kann, which led the game to a position where they had to repeat moves to avoid a disadvantage. A good result for Lohia, who continues scoring effectively against theoretically stronger players.
Grandmaster Josep M. López (ESP) took big risks against WGM Lan Yao (ENG), even refusing a draw by repetition and leaving himself in a clearly worse position! Even so, the English player couldn't take advantage, and after some simplifications, they reached a king endgame that ended in a draw.

On the eighth board, FM Serafín Garcia, if he had won against Joaquín Fiorito, could have also moved to the top, as he started the round half a point ahead of his opponent. In fact, his final draw was quite meritorious, as he reached an endgame with a pawn down, which he should have lost if the Argentine IM had been more precise in converting the advantage.
This leaves us with only two boards where one of the players was able to achieve victory, and this happened on boards 3 and 5, where Grandmasters Shimanov and Sumets defeated Francisco Fiorito and Mads Vestby-Ellingsen, respectively, after about four and a half hours of play, as both games ended around the same time.

Shimanov, with the white pieces, always had a slight initiative and gradually maneuvered to improve his position despite the complications his opponent posed. It was in the time trouble that the advantage became decisive, and he never let it go, eventually taking the point.
On the other hand, Sumets reached the middlegame with an excellent position, taking advantage of his opponent’s mistakes in the opening, a French defense. The experienced grandmaster knew how to increase his advantage and never gave his opponent a chance, despite his long resistance, which ultimately ended in defeat.

Thus, once the games on the top boards were concluded, only two players remain at the top with 4½ points: Grandmasters Aleksandr Shimanov and Andrey Sumets.
As for the most notable results of the day, we should, as we did yesterday, highlight a few. On one hand, the victory of FM Àlex Villa over IM Adrián Suárez. In his case, it is a relative surprise because it is becoming quite common to see him win against International Masters.

The U12 Noam Sason, who beat FM Andreas Garberg Tryggestad, the U14 Eithan Ruiz, who drew against FM Joshuaede Cappelletto, and the U16 Jayaraj Gowrishankar, who defeated FM Sergio Romero.
For Andorra, the best players in the standings are FM Raül Garcia and CM Cristofer Luke, both with 3 points, having won their respective games today.
With 2½ points, we find FM Daniel Gómez and CM Josep Mª Ribera, who lost to theoretically stronger opponents. The truth is that both missed good positions. Daniel had a decisive advantage at one point, and Pepe missed a simple trick in a position where he could have drawn.
With the same score, Manuel Cabarcos, who drew with WFM Adhara Rodríguez in a game where he had winning chances.

As tonight at 22:00 we have the Night Tournament of the Festa Major, we will inform you tomorrow of the results and winners, along with a report and a photo gallery!