The FIDE Candidates Tournament in Cyprus delivered another action-packed round on Thursday, with decisive results in both the open and women’s sections keeping the field on edge.
Open Section
Javokhir Sindarov defeated Hikaru Nakamura in the fifth round, pushing his score to +4 after five rounds, a remarkable start for the Uzbek prodigy. Sindarov has been the story of the tournament so far, playing with a confidence and clarity that has unsettled far more experienced opponents. Fabiano Caruana also secured a win against Matthias Bluebaum, keeping pressure firmly on the leader. With Sindarov and Caruana both winning, the top of the open standings is shaping up as a two-horse race, though nine rounds remain.
Women’s Section
The women’s event is producing the more dramatic narrative. Kateryna Lagno defeated tournament leader Bibisara Assaubayeva in a Classical Sicilian Dragon, pulling herself back into contention. Meanwhile, Zhu Jiner produced a positional masterpiece against Vaishali Rameshbabu, outplaying her opponent on both wings to claim a convincing victory.
The results leave three players now tied for first place in the women’s standings, a three-way logjam that promises fireworks in the rounds ahead.
Round 6 gets underway on April 4 at 3:30 PM local time. Eyes will be on Wei Yi versus Sindarov in the open, and Zhu Jiner versus Muzychuk in a potential women’s title decider in miniature.
