Carlsen, Gukesh Strike Again; Quarterfinal Showdown Looms

On the first day of round five of the 2023 FIDE World Cup, GMs Dommaraju Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi led the way for India's young stars after both scored wins with Black over GMs Wang Hao and Nils Grandelius, respectively. GMs Magnus Carlsen, Leinier Dominguez, and Nijat Abasov were the other players to draw blood in the Open section and move one step closer to mouthwatering quarterfinal matchups.

The Women's section produced two decisive results—wins for GM Tan Zhongyi and 20-year-old Bulgarian surprise packet IM Nurgyul Salimova, who is starting to be seen as a genuine dark horse in the section. 

The second classical game of round five will commence on Sunday, August 13, at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CEST / 4:30 p.m. IST.

Of the 12 games that took place on Saturday, seven ended decisively. With limited preparation time between rounds, ambitious, chaotic chess is leaking into the World Cup.

• Open Section: Bloodbath On The Board As Favorites Mostly Prevail
• Women's Section: Tan, Salimova Win With White

Open Section: Bloodbath On The Board As Favorites Mostly Prevail

Carlsen is one step closer to the most coveted title he has yet to win in his illustrious career following his win over the renowned world champion slayer of old, GM Vasyl Ivanchuk. Though all 16 players left in the field possess the skills to thwart one another, "Chucky," as he is affectionately known, was considered the bane of former world champion GM Garry Kasparov at the height of the latter's power and remains a considerable threat to Carlsen's World Cup ambitions.

To take the lead early in this match is a huge relief for the former world champion who admitted his "nervous system has not really recovered from the last few days."

The world number-one forced his Ukrainian opponent to make committal decisions early with the flexible 2.Nf3, the Queen's Pawn Opening: Zukertort Variation, and Ivanchuk opted for a solid, Slavic setup in response.

Carlsen looked to control his position early on, grasping the initiative and never letting go despite being "caught" in the opening in a variation that wasn't familiar to him. His light-squared bishop ended up playing the role of protagonist and exerted its influence from afar all game. 

Menacingly waiting in the wings is Indian prodigy Gukesh, who took a huge stride in the direction of setting up a quarterfinal clash with Carlsen following his victory with Black over Wang. Gukesh noted that he was skeptical of Wang's decision to play the passive 17.Ne1, feeling that from this point onward, he was able to play for more than a draw with the black pieces.

The win, his fourth in seven classical games at the World Cup, is a fitting Game of the Day and has been analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao.

Now with a live rating of 2761, the 17-year-old is the seventh highest-rated player in the world and has jumped ahead of the likes of GM Anish Giri. Should his form continue, Gukesh possesses a realistic chance of being the youngest player to cross 2800, a record currently held by GM Alireza Firouzja (18 years and 166 days).

Dominguez is due to turn 40 in just over a week's time and is on track to still be in the event on his birthday if he continues playing with the clinical precision he has displayed thus far.

Against GM Alexey Sarana's Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation, the U.S. representative used every trick in the book to dizzy his opponent. A cocktail of intermezzos, forks, and discovered attacks eventually sealed the deal for Dominguez who dodged serious time trouble by a matter of minutes.

The two longest games of the round—Abasov-GM Salem Saleh and Grandelius-Arjun—both spelled a cautionary tale. Despite the games seemingly heading for draws, two endgame errs led to the downfall of Saleh and Grandelius.

The remaining games ended in draws with little drama transpiring aside from GM Fabiano Caruana's admission that the line he had played against GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda was one that he had prepared for his world championship match against Carlsen in 2018. Whether Duda was aware of this preparation remains to be seen; however, he did handle the line masterfully.

The second day of play in round five will see five players in a situation where they must win on demand to keep their spots in the competition. Naturally, our attention turns toward the match between Carlsen and Ivanchuk, where the creative Ukrainian will no doubt pull out all the stops with the white pieces and try to ruin Carlsen's tournament. 

Round 5 Results: Open

 All Games: Open Round 5.1

Women's Section: Tan, Salimova Shine With White

With just eight participants remaining in the Women's section, crunch time has arrived in this section. Two major contenders, GM Bela Khotenashvili and IM Polina Shuvalova, suffered major setbacks and lost their first game of the fifth round against GM Tan and the Bulgarian Salimova respectively. The only solace the two can take from the day's play is that they will at least have the opportunity to play with the white pieces as they try to win on demand in the second game.

With an impressive 7/9 score in her classical games so far, Salimova has been the standout of the Women's section. Along with making it to the quarterfinals, the 20-year-old IM has garnered 18 rating points for her efforts.

IM Nurgyul Salimova tops the list of the best performers at the FIDE Women's World Cup so far!! 👀
(Players highlighted in red have already been eliminated.)

📷: @2700chess#chess #womeninchess #FIDEWorldCup https://t.co/TVNrpGWUFz pic.twitter.com/PqeDDHvDMh

— Women's Chess Coverage (@OnTheQueenside) August 12, 2023

Her win over the three-time former World Girls Champion Shuvalova was certainly the most special so far. After maintaining a slight edge for the bulk of the game, the talented Salimova capitalized on a move-47 blunder and worked her way into a winning Lucena endgame.

As the game drew to a close, Naroditsky in his commentary heaped praise on the young star, stating: "She's playing like a seasoned, veteran GM. You get the sense that she is in control of these games. I think she's got a chance to really stun the field if she continues to play like this."

When quizzed about how she would prepare to defend against Shuvalova on Sunday, Salimova showed that she is keeping her nerves under control, responding: "It's nothing different. I mean, it's just another game. Of course, there is pressure because it's the World Cup quarterfinals" and later stated that the key was to be "relaxed."

Tan also benefitted from a mistake in her victory over Khotenashvili; however, the nature of the win was markedly different from that of Salimova's. Tan showed off her trademark attacking style and opted to fight early in a wild variation of the Catalan Opening and soon began to sense that her opponent's "fighting spirit weakened a bit." Buoyed by this revelation, the Chinese GM found the tactical shot 33.Rxe6!!, and Khotenashvili was unable to find the best response to hold on.

In her post-game press conference, Tan spoke confidently about her thoughts on her opponent's strategy heading into the second game (translated from Mandarin to English): "I think Bella is a very active player. She will certainly give me some surprises tomorrow, and what I need to do is to react appropriately. I am not worried about the prospect of going into the rapid tiebreaks."

Two hard-fought draws in GM Aleksandra Goryachkina-GM Harika Dronavalli and GM Anna Muzychuk-GM Elisabeth Paehtz have left the higher-rated players in each pairing needing to hold with the black pieces in the second game. 

With so many decisive games on the first day of round five, Sunday's proceedings are not to be missed! Make sure to tune in to Chess.com's live coverage for what promises to be one of the most action-packed days of the 2023 FIDE World Cup so far.

Round 5 Results: Women

All Games: Women's Round 5.1

The 2023 FIDE World Cup and Women's World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, are big knockout events that will determine six spots in the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournaments. The action begins July 30 and ends August 24, with a combined $2.5 million prize fund.

Previous Coverage

• • • Round 4.3: 18-Year-Old Praggnanandhaa Knocks Nakamura Out Of World Cup
    • Round 4.2: Carlsen Strikes Back, Caruana In Last 16
    • Round 4.1: Carlsen, So On Brink Of World Cup Exit
    • Round 3.3: Giri Gone, So Survives, Kosteniuk Knocked Out On Tense Day Of Tiebreaks
    • Round 3.2: MVL Exits World Cup; Close Calls For Caruana, Ju
    • Round 3.1: Svidler, Carlsen Cruise to Victory; Roebers on Perfect Score
    • Round 2.3: Grischuk, Lagno Exit World Cup As Nakamura, So Survive
    • Round 2.2: Mamedyarov, Abdusattorov, Shankland Crash Out Of World Cup
    • Round 2.1: Carlsen, Caruana Start Fast, Praggnanandhaa Plays Masterpiece
    • Round 1.3: Suleymanli Wins Epic Tiebreak As Carlsen, Nakamura Gear Up For Action
    • Round 1.2: Favorites Strike Back As 33 Tiebreaks Await
    • Round 1.1: Stunning Start By Ediz Gurel, The World Cup's Youngest Player
    • Carlsen Goes For First World Cup Win
    • FIDE World Cup 2023: All The Information