The penultimate round of the UzChess Cup maintained the tournament's high standard of competitive and eventful play, with three of the five games ending decisively. Heading into Friday's final round, Nodirbek Abdusattorov remains the sole leader on 5½/8 after drawing his round-eight game against Ian Nepomniachtchi. With the black pieces, Abdusattorov held a 28-move draw, opting for solidity ahead of his key final-round clash.
Given Abdusattorov's draw, both Arjun Erigaisi and Javokhir Sindarov had the chance to join him in the lead with a win. However, neither was able to capitalise.
Sindarov played a complex, hard-fought draw against Nodirbek Yakubboev, maintaining his position half a point behind the leader.
Arjun, on the other hand, suffered a critical setback, losing with white to his countryman and long-time friend Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (see video below). Pragg, who had lost two of his previous three games, delivered an impressive performance to return to contention. He now stands on 4½ points, just one point behind Abdusattorov, whom he will face with the black pieces in Friday's decisive final round.
Two additional games ended in victories. Shamsiddin Vokhidov scored his first full point of the tournament, defeating Parham Maghsoodloo and eliminating the Iranian from title contention. After back-to-back losses in rounds seven and eight, Maghsoodloo finds himself 1½ points off the pace with no mathematical chance of winning the event.
Meanwhile, Richard Rapport beat Aravindh Chithambaram with the black pieces to return to an even score (4/8). Interestingly, all of Rapport’s decisive games in the event - two wins and two losses - have come when he played with black.
Besides the all-important Abdusattorov v. Praggnanandhaa clash, the games Sindarov v. Maghsoodloo and Arjun v. Aravindh might also have an impact on who gets tournament victory in the second edition of the Uzbek super-tournament.
The final round starts four hours earlier than usual, at 8.00 CEST.
Round 8 results
Javokhir Sindarov stands in sole second place, a mere half point behind Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu playing 2.e4 against Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
Standings after round 8
All games
The penultimate round in the Challengers saw Nikolas Theodorou, the long-time leader, losing his first game of the event. The Greek GM was defeated by none other than Vasyl Ivanchuk, who now has 4½ points to his name. Theodorou, nonetheless, is still the sole leader.
Mukhiddin Madaminov and Vitaly Sivuk stand a half point behind Theodorou, while Ivanchuk, standing a half point further back, still has theoretical chances of winning the event.
Round 8 results
Standings after round 8
All games
Ortik Nigmatov has played the most number of decisive games in all three closed sections of the UzChess Cup. After leading the Futures tournament throughout the first six rounds, he suffered two losses in a row on Wednesday and Thursday. In round eight, Saidakbar Saydaliev beat him with the white pieces.
This loss allowed Saparmyrat Atabayev and Evgeny Alekseev to climb to shared first place, as they both scored wins with white on Thursday.
In a crucial matchup of the final round, the experienced Alekseev will play black against the uncompromising Nigmatov.
Round 8 results
Standings after round 8
All games
