D. Gukesh secured a significant victory with the black pieces against Hungary’s Sanan Sjugirov in the fifth round, establishing himself as the sole leader in the Chennai Grand Masters chess championship with 3.5 points on Tuesday.
Reflecting on his performance, Gukesh commented on Sjugirov’s somewhat cautious opening, expressing his belief that his opponent did not opt for the most critical approach. Gukesh aimed for more than mere equality from the early stages, capitalizing on Sjugirov’s time-consuming moves to build a substantial time advantage.
In analyzing the game, Gukesh revealed a strategic move designed to deceive his opponent. Anticipating potential counter-moves by Sjugirov, Gukesh calculated the possible lines of play, banking on Sjugirov, who was under time pressure, to make a hurried and potentially faulty move.
Gukesh emphasized the importance of his time advantage, stating, “I had a lot of time. So, I was just careful to calculate and finish it off. Always nice to win with black!”
Acknowledging fellow Indian chess player Arjun Erigaisi’s performance, Gukesh praised him for his game against USA’s Levon Aronian. Despite being in a promising position with the white pieces, Arjun could only manage a draw in the end.
The results of the fifth round included Sanan Sjugirov (Hun, 2) losing to D. Gukesh (3.5), P. Harikrishna (3) drawing with Parham Maghsoodloo (Irn, 2.5), Arjun Erigaisi (2.5) drawing with Levon Aronian (USA, 2.5), and Alexandr Predke (Srb, 1) losing to Pavel Eljanov (Ukr, 3).
