Open: Giri and Nihal score, join chasing pack
The top-board clash of round six saw Parham Maghsoodloo once again retain his sole lead. Paired with white against Arjun Erigaisi, the Iranian played a quiet English Opening, and after mass exchanges the players reached a balanced knight endgame in which neither side had realistic winning chances. A draw left Maghsoodloo on 5/6, still half a point ahead of the field going into the rest day.
Behind him, a number of players tried to keep pace. Marc’Andria Maurizzi, who had beaten Vladislav Artemiev, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vincent Keymer in successive rounds, faced Anish Giri with the white pieces. In a Najdorf Sicilian, Giri was merciless, generating a direct kingside attack and winning quickly with black.
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Another duel among immediate pursuers paired Matthias Bluebaum against Abhimanyu Mishra. Both had upset world-class opponents in earlier rounds, but this time neither was able to make headway. Mishra, armed with a Grünfeld Defence, neutralised Bluebaum’s preparation, and the game ended in a draw.
Sole leader Parham Maghsoodloo faced second seed Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: Michal Walusza
Meanwhile, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju suffered a second consecutive upset loss, this time against Nikolas Theodorou. The Greek grandmaster, in excellent recent form, chose the Petroff Defence against 1.e4 and reached a balanced position heading into a rook endgame. Gukesh had an extra pawn, but Theodorou’s passed pawns proved more dangerous. Precision was required on both sides, and it was the Greek who navigated the complications better, consigning the reigning champion to another setback.
Elsewhere, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, after his defeat in round five, settled for a short draw with Rauf Mamedov, following the pragmatic advice of the old Soviet school that “after a loss, one plays for a draw”.
By contrast, Nihal Sarin continued his fine run. Still unbeaten, he scored his third win of the event, defeating Szymon Gumularz to move to 4½/6. Nihal now sits just half a point behind Maghsoodloo and will meet the leader on the top board in round seven.
Nihal Sarin | Photo: Michal Walusza
Maurizzi 0-1 Giri
Analysis by André Schulz
Anish Giri | Photo: Michal Walusza
Gukesh 0-1 Theodorou
Analysis by André Schulz
Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Michal Walusza
Bluebaum ½-½ Mishra
Analysis by André Schulz
Abhimanyu Mishra | Photo: Michal Walusza
Standings after round 6
| 1 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | 2692 | 5 | 2722 | |
| 2 | GM | Mishra, Abhimanyu | 2611 | 4,5 | 2727 | |
| 3 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 2771 | 4,5 | 2678 | |
| 4 | GM | Bluebaum, Matthias | 2671 | 4,5 | 2646 | |
| 5 | GM | Giri, Anish | 2746 | 4,5 | 2640 | |
| 6 | GM | Nihal, Sarin | 2693 | 4,5 | 2611 | |
| 7 | GM | Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan | 2646 | 4 | 2719 | |
| 8 | GM | Maurizzi, Marcandria | 2610 | 4 | 2716 | |
| 9 | GM | Pranav, V | 2596 | 4 | 2678 | |
| 10 | GM | Rodshtein, Maxim | 2645 | 4 | 2669 | |
| 11 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | 2754 | 4 | 2663 | |
| 12 | GM | Sargsyan, Shant | 2653 | 4 | 2654 | |
| 13 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2748 | 4 | 2653 | |
| 14 | GM | Tabatabaei, M. Amin | 2673 | 4 | 2642 | |
| 15 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | 2751 | 4 | 2638 | |
| 16 | GM | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | 2741 | 4 | 2635 | |
| 17 | GM | Theodorou, Nikolas | 2646 | 4 | 2634 | |
| 18 | GM | Niemann, Hans Moke | 2733 | 4 | 2628 | |
| 19 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 2712 | 4 | 2624 | |
| 20 | GM | Van Foreest, Jorden | 2692 | 4 | 2622 | |
| 21 | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 2681 | 4 | 2603 | |
| 22 | GM | Cheparinov, Ivan | 2627 | 3,5 | 2731 | |
| 23 | GM | Puranik, Abhimanyu | 2640 | 3,5 | 2723 | |
| 24 | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | 2615 | 3,5 | 2707 | |
| 25 | GM | Shirov, Alexei | 2616 | 3,5 | 2695 |
All games
Women’s: Vaishali and Lagno co-leaders
The women’s event also clarified its standings in round six. Leaders Vaishali Rameshbabu and Kateryna Lagno both faced direct rivals and won, pulling clear at the top with 5/6 apiece.
Vaishali, playing black against Ulviyya Fataliyeva, maintained control throughout and scored her fourth win of the event. Lagno, meanwhile, defeated Dinara Wagner. The German player’s resistance was impressive: after an early slip in the opening she worked her way back into the game, reaching a rook-and-bishops endgame where opposite-coloured bishops seemed to offer drawing chances. Yet in the concrete position, the defensive resources failed, and Lagno converted the full point.
With Wagner and Fataliyeva both dropping back, only two players remain in close pursuit on 4½ points. Guo Qi outplayed Khanim Balajayeva from the black side of a Caro–Kann, steering the game into a favourable rook endgame which she won cleanly. Antoaneta Stefanova also scored, defeating Tan Zhongyi in an ex-world champions’ battle. Curiously, Tan played extremely quickly, building a large time advantage on the clock but producing uncharacteristically weak moves. Stefanova soon obtained a winning position and only needed to manage her own clock to secure victory.
Guo Qi defeated Khanim Balajayeva with black | Photo: Michal Walusza
A large group of nine players follow on 4/6, including Mariya Muzychuk, who beat Guldona Karimova to claim her fourth point — notably, all her results so far have been decisive, with no draws. Also on 4 points are Bibisara Assaubayeva, Afruza Khamdamova, Olga Girya, Song Yuxin, Stavroula Tsolakidou and Irina Bulmaga.
The leaders have already played each other, drawing their round five encounter. In round seven, both will face immediate pursuers: Vaishali has white against Guo, while Lagno will play black against Stefanova.
Antoaneta Stefanova | Photo: Michal Walusza
Lagno 1-0 Wagner
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
Kateryna Lagno | Photo: Michal Walusza
Karimova 0-1 M. Muzychuk
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
A very young fan made it to the playing hall | Photo: Michal Walusza
Standings after round 6
| 1 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2452 | 5 | 2408 | |
| 2 | GM | Lagno, Kateryna | 2505 | 5 | 2406 | |
| 3 | IM | Guo, Qi | 2371 | 4,5 | 2445 | |
| 4 | GM | Stefanova, Antoaneta | 2395 | 4,5 | 2382 | |
| 5 | IM | Fataliyeva, Ulviyya | 2385 | 4 | 2481 | |
| 6 | GM | Girya, Olga | 2386 | 4 | 2450 | |
| 7 | IM | Wagner, Dinara | 2400 | 4 | 2417 | |
| 8 | WIM | Khamdamova, Afruza | 2409 | 4 | 2406 | |
| 9 | IM | Song, Yuxin | 2409 | 4 | 2402 | |
| 10 | GM | Assaubayeva, Bibisara | 2505 | 4 | 2390 | |
| 11 | GM | Muzychuk, Mariya | 2484 | 4 | 2372 | |
| 12 | IM | Tsolakidou, Stavroula | 2445 | 4 | 2366 | |
| 13 | IM | Bulmaga, Irina | 2400 | 4 | 2348 | |
| 14 | GM | Krush, Irina | 2366 | 3,5 | 2438 | |
| 15 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | 2531 | 3,5 | 2393 | |
| 16 | GM | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 2472 | 3,5 | 2383 | |
| 17 | IM | Garifullina, Leya | 2477 | 3,5 | 2382 | |
| 18 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | 2467 | 3,5 | 2371 | |
| 19 | IM | Yip, Carissa | 2458 | 3,5 | 2363 | |
| 20 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | 2386 | 3 | 2511 | |
| 21 | IM | Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra | 2379 | 3 | 2469 | |
| 22 | IM | Narva, Mai | 2386 | 3 | 2450 | |
| 23 | IM | Badelka, Olga | 2375 | 3 | 2433 | |
| 24 | WGM | Gaal, Zsoka | 2388 | 3 | 2433 | |
| 25 | WCM | Khalilova, Madinabonu | 2148 | 3 | 2432 |
