Paphos (Cyprus), April 2 After defeating Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the first round, Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa is yet to win a game in the Candidates chess tournament here, and the road ahead for him looks difficult as Uzbek Javokhir Sindarov has a significant lead that everyone will be envious of.
With four rounds out of ten completed, Praggnanandhaa has two points, which is a decent start, except when looking at Sindarov's results.
The Uzbek had stunned the chess audience worldwide by winning the World Chess Cup in Goa last year, and he seems unstoppable having scored 3.5 points out of his four games.
For any strong event like this, either the start or the final stages are crucial. And with this kind of start, it is clear that Sindarov is the most formidable opponent, unless someone can bring him down.
That said, the Uzbek's chess style also depends on his ability to play complex games, where he tries to outplay his opponents. And this could be a key factor for other elite players to focus on, as anything can happen in positions with three possible outcomes.
With Sindarov at 3.5 points, Caruana is second with 2.5, while Praggnanandhaa, Matthias Bluebaum of Germany, and Giri share the next three spots with 2 points each. Hikaru Nakamura of the United States and Wei Yi of China are next with 1.5 points, while Andrey Esipenko of Russia is in last place with just one point.
In the women's tournament being held simultaneously, Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan and Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine are leading with 2.5 points. Russians Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina, along with Jiner Zhu of China and Indian R Vaishali, share the third spot with 2 points each, while Divya Deshmukh and Zhongyi Tan are close behind with 1.5 points.
In the open section, Sindarov has clearly been the standout player with his never-say-die attitude and his skills in tactical patterns. His game against Praggnanandhaa probably stands out as his best effort so far, where he sacrificed a piece early and gained a significant advantage.
For Praggnanandhaa, things need to improve if he wants to compete for the next world championship match against D Gukesh.
So far, the Indian has shown enough intent, but it remains to be seen if he can bring home more points before the first half of this 8-player, 14-round event ends, in which everyone plays against each other twice.
Praggnanandhaa will face bottom-placed Esipenko in the next round after a rest day on Thursday.
The women's event is quite open, as the two leaders started as underdogs. Anna Muzychuk, in particular, got a chance to compete here following the withdrawal of Koneru Humpy, while Bibisara was at best a long shot when the event started.
Pairings Round 5: R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 2) vs Andrey Esipenko (Rus, 1); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 2.5) vs Matthias Bluebaum (Ger, 2); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 1.5) vs Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 3.5) Anish Giri (Ned, 2) vs Wei Yi (Chn, 1.5).
Women: Kateryna Lagno (Rus, 2) vs Bibisara Assuabayeva (Kaz, 2.5); Zhongyi Tan (Chn, 1.5) vs Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 1.5); Jiner Zhu (Chn, 2) vs R Vaishali (Ind, 2); Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus, 2) vs Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 2.5).
