FIDE World Cup 2025 R5.1: Arjun Erigaisi and Pentala Harikrishna play solid draws, Sindarov beats Frederik
Arjun Erigaisi and Pentala Harikrishna made solid draws in the first game of the fifth round of FIDE World Cup 2025. Arjun as always made an attempt to gain upper hand against Levon Aronian (USA). However, neither player made any significant mistake in the game. Harikrishna drew against the Mexico no.1. The better part of the game followed a few other games which had the same outcome. Former World Rapid champion, Daniil Dubov had a great chance in the endgame against Sam Shankland (USA). However, Dubov did not play the precise continuation and allowed his opponent to escape with a draw. Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) scored the sole win of the day against Frederik Svane (GER). Round 5 Game 2 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Dubov misses a great opportunity, Sindarov scores the sole win of the day
Daniil Dubov missed a wonderful chance to beat Sam Shankland and take the lead in their match. If Dubov does not advance to the Quarterfinals, this game could potentially be the reason behind it. Javokhir Sindarov kept calm in a relatively equal minor piece endgame. His opponent, Frederik Svane panicked under time trouble, being not so familiar in high pressure situation like this, he blundered and lost. Sindarov has already won the 44th Olympiad in 2022, so he is well-versed with pressure cooker situations. He kept calm and won.
Sindarov - Frederik: 1-0
GM Javokhir Sindarov (UZB, 2721) faced GM Frederik Svane (GER, 2640) for the first time in a Classical rated game. In a relatively balanced, double bishop vs bishop and knight endgame, Frederik was visibly panicking. He was running low on time but the pressure also got the better of him.
53...a2 54.Kb3 Kh7 would have been fine for Black. Instead, 53...Bf8 54.Kb3 Bg7? Black just transferred the bishop to the wrong diagonal and allowed c5. 55.Bd8 Be5 56.c5 Na4 57.Be7 and soon White created a passed pawn on b-file which was the key in him earning a victory. Sindarov needs just a draw as a minimum in the second game to advance to Round 6 where Frederik is in a must-win situation.
Arjun - Aronian: 0.5-0.5
GM Arjun Erigaisi (2769) and GM Levon Aronian (USA, 2728) saga started back in 2021 at Goldmoney Asian Rapid. It continues till today and a new chapter is being written. However, we would have to wait a little longer for a decisive result. They had a well contested draw in the first Classical game.
Shankland - Dubov: 0.5-0.5
The only Classical rated game between GM Sam Shankland (USA, 2649) and GM Daniil Dubov (2674) ended in a draw more than 3.5 years ago. Dubov missed a great winning chance in the endgame.
42...e3+ 43.Kg3 Be4 would have been winning for Black. Instead, Dubov went 42...Ba2? first 43.f5 Bc4 44.Bb6! Black probably missed this and the moment to play e3 is gone. The game meandered into a draw.
Donchenko - Liem: 0.5-0.5
GM Alexander Donchenko (GER, 2641) played only Rapid and Blitz rated games against GM Liem Quang Le (VIE, 2729). Liem won the only Blitz game back in 2019. Their Rapid game ended in a draw last year. Their first Classical battle was a lukewarm draw.
Gabriel - Yakubboev: 0.5-0.5
The only time GM Gabriel Sargissian (ARM, 2616) faced GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB, 2689) was over 8.5 years ago. It ended in a draw. This time they had a relatively calm draw.
Esipenko - Grebnev: 0.5-0.5
The lone Classical rated game between GM Andrey Esipenko (2681) and GM Aleksey Grebnev (2617) took place last year. It ended in a draw. This time it was an uneventful draw.
Sevian - Wei: 0.5-0.5
The only time GM Samuel Sevian (USA, 2701) and GM Wei Yi (CHN, 2753) played a Classical rated game against each other was over a decade ago. It ended in a draw. This time the outcome was also the same.
Jose - Harikrishna: 0.5-0.5
The first-ever Classical rated game between GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (MEX, 2644) and GM Pentala Harikrishna (2690) ended in a draw. The better part of the game followed moves in a Two-Knights Defence which has witnessed quite a few games among strong players.
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Round 5.1 scores
GM Pentala Harikrishna - GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (MEX): 0.5-0.5
GM Levon Aronian (USA) - GM Arjun Erigaisi: 0.5-0.5
