In a thrilling Classical Sicilian, GM Leinier Dominguez rebuffed GM Wei Yi’s aggressive intentions with a strike of his own. How did he do it?

White to move.

GM Hou Yifan also retaliated against her opponent’s aggressive play with black. GM Kateryna Lagno stormed her kingside pawns up the board first, followed by breaking in the center with 21…d5. However, her eager advances overlooked Hou’s tactical counter. 

In the matchup between Georgia’s top two women, GM Nana Dzagnidze overestimated her king’s safety in the center. GM Bela Khotenashvili struck sharply, stirring up a mating attack. How would you hunt down the black king?

White to move.

Though his team struggled, GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre celebrated his birthday with a peaceful result against the higher-rated GM Andrey Esipenko, holding his own in a rook ending. 

Anand’s insight on the openings starting this round certainly rang true for Nepomniachtchi, who played very aggressively vs. Carlsen by sacrificing a center pawn so all of his developed pieces could eye Black’s weak f7-pawn. 

Nepomniachtchi’s barely developed forces are already out for blood

While the two-time challenger succeeded in surprising the 16th world champion, he failed to gain the upper hand. Carlsen sacrificed the pawn back and calmly finished his development. When the dust cleared, the Norwegian icon had a powerful grip on the center, which he traded for a pawn-up ending. Then, he grinded down his rival in his classic Carlsen-esque style, turning a minuscule edge into a four-point victory with the black pieces. As commentator GM Peter Svidler stated, “He is not really that much worse, but if anyone can create problems here for Ian, it is Magnus.”

Also winning with Black for the SG Alpine Warriors was the so far unbeatable Praggnanandhaa vs. fellow Indian 17-year-old GM Raunak Sadhwani.

Raunak threw his kingside pawns at his opponent’s castled king, yet Praggnanadhaa created enough counterplay and defensive resources from the queenside that Raunak’s fearsome-looking attack didn’t actually cause a dent. In fact, Praggnanadhaa took his opponent to an ending where the advanced kingside pawns become a losing liability. 

Praggnanadhaa’s astonishing fifth victory out of six rounds is our Game of the Day has been annotated by GM Rafael Leitao.

Despite these two impressive victories with Black, the Balan Alaskan Knights gained the upper hand on the majority of the other boards. 

In the fascinating fight vs. youngsters GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov and GM Gukesh D., the Uzbek grandmaster flipped his opponent’s queenside counterplay on its head with an unexpected tactical idea. 

GM Nino Batsiashvili lured GM Elisabeth Paehtz into a trap, giving up a knight to set up a tactic that ultimately won the German grandmaster’s queen. Can you find it?

White to move and win.

GM Teimour Radjabov and GM Arjun Erigaisi drew the most balanced game of the round, a stonewall structure that traded into an opposite-color bishop ending. 

This left the match in the hands of GM Tan Zhongyi vs. GM Irina Krush, the 16th women’s world champion vs. the eight-time U.S. women’s champion. Tan expanded on the queenside while Krush gained space on the kingside. However, the American grandmaster curiously closed off the kingside pawn structure herself, leaving all the active play on the other side of the board where Tan had the advantage. With an abundance of time to maneuver her pieces to their optimum positions, the Chinese grandmaster eventually broke through for the kill, sealing the match for the Knights. 

Global Chess League Standings After Day 5

Tech Mahindra Global Chess League 2023 consists of a preliminary group stage and a final contested by the top two teams. In each match, members of the same team play with the same color. All games are in the 15+10 time control.

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