By Shreyanka Nandan
The fifth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss produced a dramatic turn of events for Indian chess as two of its biggest stars, reigning World Champion D Gukesh and top seed R Praggnanandhaa suffered surprising defeats on Monday.
Gukesh was outplayed by the USA’s Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest Grandmaster in history, while Praggnanandhaa went down to Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum, who is enjoying a dream run in the event.
On the brighter side, Arjun Erigaisi delivered a flawless performance against Nikita Vitiugov, steering his Catalan Opening to a commanding victory. The win places Arjun in the joint second spot with four points.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo extended his strong form, defeating Hungary’s Richard Rapport to emerge as the sole leader with 4.5 points out of five. Chasing him closely, Arjun Bluebaum and Mishra, each on four points, while Uzbek’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov remains within striking distance.
The Grand Swiss, which offers a prize pool of USD 625,000 in the open category and USD 230,000 in the women’s section, carries special significance. The top two finishers from both events will qualify for the Candidates Tournament, the gateway to the World Championship.
In the women’s section, India’s R Vaishali continued to impress, holding Russia’s Kateryna Lagno (competing under the FIDE flag) to a draw. With this result, Vaishali remains in the joint lead alongside Germany’s Dinara Wagner and Azerbaijan’s Ulviyya Fataliyeva, all on four points.
In the opening section, Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran scored a crucial win over Hungary’s Richard Rapport to move into the sole lead, while Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum stunned top seed R Praggnanandhaa. India’s Arjun Erigaisi produced one of the most convincing victories of the day against Nikita Vitiugov, and Abhimanyu Mishra of the USA shocked World Champion D Gukesh. Among other notable Indian results, Nihal Sarin outplayed compatriot Leon Luke Mendonca, while Vidit Gujrathi held Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria to a draw. Abhimanyu Puranik also impressed with a win over Vladimir Fedoseev, as P Harikrishna, Raunak Sadhwani, S L Narayanan, and Aditya Mittal all split points with their respective opponents.
In the women’s section, India’s R Vaishali continued her strong run by drawing with Kateryna Lagno, keeping her at the top of the standings. Germany’s Dinara Wagner defeated Romania’s Irina Bulmaga, while Ulviyya Fataliyeva of Azerbaijan toppled former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva also stayed in the mix with a win over Bulgaria’s Nurgyul Salimova. Dronavalli Harika drew her game against Meruert Kamalidenova of Kazakhstan, while Vantika Agrawal went down to Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk.
With the completion of four rounds, the Grand Swiss has already thrown up upsets and surprises, and with qualification spots for the Candidates at stake, the next rounds promise even more intense battles.