Solid! Solid?
The race to reach the Candidates either by rating or via the FIDE Circuit is very likely to be decided by the smallest of margins. Both contenders and pundits are keeping a close eye to see what scenarios would favour each of the players in the hunt.
Surely, FIDE tried to make the World Championship cycle more inclusive by setting up the FIDE Circuit, but the degree of complexity of some qualification paths and the ability to ‘game’ the system (by creating last-minute tournaments, for example) do not make for the most enjoyable experience for spectators — except for hardcore fans of statistics, perhaps!
Nevertheless, this race created a subplot in the London Chess Classic: will Gukesh manage to get clear first place to overtake Anish Giri in the FIDE Circuit leaderboard? After round 5, the Indian prodigy stands in shared second place a half point behind sole leader Michael Adams.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
In their direct confrontation on Tuesday, Adams and Gukesh signed a draw on move 54. However, at that point, the English veteran had two extra pawns in an endgame with two rooks and a knight per side. Adams’ decision to take the half point might have to do with the fact that his opponent had a passer on c4, but as Karsten Müller asserts in his analysis of the game (see below), White is winning in that position!
Tai Pruce-Zimmerman, a.k.a. Chess by the Numbers, noted what a big difference it made for Gukesh to escape with a half point (regarding the fight to reach the Candidates):
Giri has been making good use of the ‘mathematical’ race on social media, sharing clever, amusing posts while following the games live. Soon after Adams agreed to a draw, he quipped, “Solid! Solid?”. As the players now got a rest day, he joked about his alleged anxiety:
Adams and Gukesh signed one of the four draws seen in the last round before the rest day, as Mateusz Bartel scored the one win of the day. Bartel, who has yet to sign a draw in the event, collected a second win in a row to join the chasing pack on 3/5 points. The Polish GM is sharing second place with Gukesh, Jules Moussard and Hans Niemann.
Adams ½ - ½ Gukesh
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
In this Video-Course we deal with different dynamic decisions involving pawns. The aim of this Course is to arm club/tournament players with fresh ideas which they can use in their own practice.

Mickey Adams and Dommaraju Gukesh | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh
Royal 0 - 1 Bartel
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!

Shreyas Royal and Mateusz Bartel | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh
Standings - Round 5
Rk. | | Name | Rtg. | Nt. | Pts. | n | | | | | | | | | | | TB | Perf. |
---|
1 | GM | | 2670 | | 3.5 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 9.50 | 2841 |
2 | GM | | 2746 | | 3.0 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 7.75 | 2738 |
3 | GM | | 2639 | | 3.0 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 7.50 | 2758 |
4 | GM | | 2659 | | 3.0 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 6.75 | 2679 |
5 | GM | | 2651 | | 3.0 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 6.00 | 2689 |
6 | GM | | 2694 | | 2.5 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 5.00 | 2604 |
7 | GM | | 2712 | | 2.0 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 5.00 | 2596 |
8 | GM | | 2660 | | 2.0 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 4.00 | 2567 |
9 | GM | | 2626 | | 1.5 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 3.25 | 2475 |
10 | GM | | 2404 | | 1.5 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 3.25 | 2509 |
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger |
All games
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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b3 g6 3.Bb2 Bg7 4.g3 c5 5.c4 d6 6.Bg2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Nc3 0-0 9.d3 Ne8 10.a3 a5 11.Ne1N 11.Nd2 Nc7 12.e3 Be6 13.Nd5 Rb8 14.Nxc7 Qxc7 15.Ne4 b5 16.Nc3 Na7 17.Rb1 a4 11...Nc7 12.Nc2 Rb8 13.Ne3 Bd7 14.Ned5 Nxd5 15.Nxd5 Ne7 16.Nxe7+ Qxe7 17.Bc3 b6 18.b4 axb4 19.axb4 b5 20.Ra7 cxb4 21.Bxb4 bxc4 22.Ba5 e4 23.dxc4 23.Bxe4 Bd4 24.Rc7 Rfc8 23.Bh3!± f5 24.dxe4 23...Ra8= 24.Rxa8 Rxa8 25.Bb4 Ra6 26.c5 dxc5 27.Bxc5 Qe8 28.Qd2 Bc6 29.Rd1 Ra1 30.Rxa1 Bxa1 31.h4 h5 32.Bd4 Qd7 33.e3 Bxd4 34.Qxd4 Qe6 35.Bf1 Bd5 36.Bb5 Kh7 37.Qc5 Kg7 38.Kg2 Qf5 39.Qd6 Qf3+ 40.Kg1 Qd1+ 41.Kh2 Qb3 42.Qe5+ Kh7 43.Bd7 Be6 44.Bxe6 ½–½ - Start an analysis engine:
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Vitiugov,N | 2712 | Volokitin,A | 2660 | ½–½ | 2023 | A38 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 1.1 |
Gukesh D | 2746 | Bartel,M | 2651 | 1–0 | 2023 | C11 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 1.2 |
Moussard,J | 2639 | Niemann,H | 2659 | ½–½ | 2023 | C67 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 1.3 |
Adams,M | 2670 | Tabatabaei,M | 2694 | 1–0 | 2023 | C50 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 1.4 |
McShane,L | 2626 | Royal,S | 2404 | ½–½ | 2023 | B51 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 1.5 |
Volokitin,A | 2660 | Royal,S | 2404 | 1–0 | 2023 | C78 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 2.1 |
Tabatabaei,M | 2694 | McShane,L | 2626 | 1–0 | 2023 | C54 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 2.2 |
Niemann,H | 2659 | Adams,M | 2670 | ½–½ | 2023 | A20 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 2.3 |
Bartel,M | 2651 | Moussard,J | 2639 | 1–0 | 2023 | A17 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 2.4 |
Vitiugov,N | 2712 | Gukesh D | 2746 | ½–½ | 2023 | D14 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 2.5 |
Gukesh D | 2746 | Volokitin,A | 2660 | 1–0 | 2023 | A34 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 3.1 |
Moussard,J | 2639 | Vitiugov,N | 2712 | 1–0 | 2023 | C88 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 3.2 |
Adams,M | 2670 | Bartel,M | 2651 | 1–0 | 2023 | B12 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 3.3 |
McShane,L | 2626 | Niemann,H | 2659 | ½–½ | 2023 | C67 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 3.4 |
Royal,S | 2404 | Tabatabaei,M | 2694 | 1–0 | 2023 | D38 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 3.5 |
Volokitin,A | 2660 | Tabatabaei,M | 2694 | 0–1 | 2023 | C77 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 4.1 |
Niemann,H | 2659 | Royal,S | 2404 | 1–0 | 2023 | C54 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 4.2 |
Bartel,M | 2651 | McShane,L | 2626 | 1–0 | 2023 | C65 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 4.3 |
Vitiugov,N | 2712 | Adams,M | 2670 | ½–½ | 2023 | D37 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 4.4 |
Gukesh D | 2746 | Moussard,J | 2639 | 0–1 | 2023 | C42 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 4.5 |
Moussard,J | 2639 | Volokitin,A | 2660 | ½–½ | 2023 | A29 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 5.1 |
Adams,M | 2670 | Gukesh D | 2746 | ½–½ | 2023 | B30 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 5.2 |
McShane,L | 2626 | Vitiugov,N | 2712 | ½–½ | 2023 | B51 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 5.3 |
Royal,S | 2404 | Bartel,M | 2651 | 0–1 | 2023 | D94 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 5.4 |
Tabatabaei,M | 2694 | Niemann,H | 2659 | ½–½ | 2023 | E32 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 5.5 |
Volokitin,A | 2660 | Niemann,H | 2659 | 1–0 | 2023 | C67 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 6.1 |
Bartel,M | 2651 | Tabatabaei,M | 2694 | 0–1 | 2023 | A19 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 6.2 |
Vitiugov,N | 2712 | Royal,S | 2404 | ½–½ | 2023 | B67 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 6.3 |
Gukesh D | 2746 | McShane,L | 2626 | 1–0 | 2023 | D35 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 6.4 |
Moussard,J | 2639 | Adams,M | 2670 | 0–1 | 2023 | C88 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 6.5 |
Adams,M | 2670 | Volokitin,A | 2660 | ½–½ | 2023 | B51 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 7.1 |
McShane,L | 2626 | Moussard,J | 2639 | ½–½ | 2023 | B55 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 7.2 |
Royal,S | 2404 | Gukesh D | 2746 | ½–½ | 2023 | E53 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 7.3 |
Tabatabaei,M | 2694 | Vitiugov,N | 2712 | 1–0 | 2023 | B93 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 7.4 |
Niemann,H | 2659 | Bartel,M | 2651 | 0–1 | 2023 | C55 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 7.5 |
Volokitin,A | 2660 | Bartel,M | 2651 | 1–0 | 2023 | C18 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 8.1 |
Vitiugov,N | 2712 | Niemann,H | 2659 | ½–½ | 2023 | C67 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 8.2 |
Gukesh D | 2746 | Tabatabaei,M | 2694 | ½–½ | 2023 | C54 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 8.3 |
Moussard,J | 2639 | Royal,S | 2404 | 0–1 | 2023 | D02 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 8.4 |
Adams,M | 2670 | McShane,L | 2626 | ½–½ | 2023 | C65 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 8.5 |
McShane,L | 2626 | Volokitin,A | 2660 | ½–½ | 2023 | B51 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 9.1 |
Royal,S | 2404 | Adams,M | 2670 | ½–½ | 2023 | D35 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 9.2 |
Tabatabaei,M | 2694 | Moussard,J | 2639 | ½–½ | 2023 | B48 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 9.3 |
Niemann,H | 2659 | Gukesh D | 2746 | 1–0 | 2023 | C54 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 9.4 |
Bartel,M | 2651 | Vitiugov,N | 2712 | ½–½ | 2023 | B30 | 13th London Chess Classic 2023 | 9.5 |
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