Three players on plus-two
Four rounds into the fourth edition of the President Cup in Tashkent, the Masters tournament has produced a competitive and pattern-driven start. Three players now share first place on 3/4: India’s top seed and defending champion Nihal Sarin, alongside Uzbekistan’s Shamsiddin Vokhidov and Mukhiddin Madaminov.
All three co-leaders have followed identical trajectories, each scoring two wins and two draws. Their victories came in rounds one and three, a coincidence that reflects another broader trend in the tournament: all decisive games so far – nine out of twenty – have been won by the player with the white pieces.
The opening round saw all five games end decisively, while round two produced five draws. Round three featured three wins, those claimed by the players who now share the lead, with the remaining two encounters ending drawn. Sunday’s fourth round, in contrast, included only a single decisive result. Ukrainian grandmaster Yuriy Kuzubov defeated German GM Frederik Svane, in a game that brought some relief to Kuzubov after a difficult start. The Ukrainian’s victory took him to 1½/4, placing him in a shared sixth position. Svane, meanwhile, is now on 1/4, one of three players at the bottom of the standings.
Standing a half point behind the trio of leaders are Armenian GM Shant Sargsyan and Iranian GM Bardiya Daneshvar, both on 2½/4 and within close range of the co-leaders. Monday’s fifth round promises important developments in the fight for first place. Two of the co-leaders, Vokhidov and Madaminov, will face each other, while Nihal will look to make the most of the white pieces in his game against Sargsyan.
Round 4 results
Nihal Sarin got off to a successful start in the tournament – in round one, he beat Frederik Svane, which was followed by another win and two draws | Photo: Uzbek Chess Federation
Kuzubov 1-0 Svane
Annotations by Martina Gerdts
Standings after round 4
All games
On this DVD a team of experts looks closely at the secrets of Karpov’s games. In more than 7 hours of video, the authors examine four essential aspects of Karpov’s superb play.
