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Round five of the Masters tournament at the Prague Chess Festival was the most decisive round of the event so far, with all five games producing a winner. At the top of the standings, Jorden van Foreest maintained his lead, while Nodirbek Abdusattorov and David Navara also scored full points to remain a half point behind.
Van Foreest added another win to his already impressive tournament by defeating Hans Niemann. The game was largely shaped by the opening, where Black needed to find a series of precise moves in order to neutralise White's initiative. Niemann missed one of those key defensive resources, and Van Foreest immediately took advantage. From that moment on, the Dutchman kept firm control and converted his advantage without allowing any real chances for counterplay.
This victory further underlined Van Foreest's strong form in 2026. The Dutchman climbed to the 11th spot on the live rating list. Despite his excellent run, his margin at the top of the table remains narrow.
Sole leader Jorden van Foreest | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
Navara produced the most attractive win of the round by defeating Nodirbek Yakubboev. The Czech star gradually built up pressure and concluded the game with a direct attack. Yakubboev acknowledged the quality of the performance by allowing checkmate on the board.
David Navara won the best game prize for his win over Parham Maghsoodloo in round one - and will surely win this one as well! | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
Abdusattorov's win against reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju was another dramatic chapter in their increasingly familiar rivalry. As in several of their recent encounters, Gukesh appeared to be on course for a good result. He introduced a new idea in the opening and soon obtained an advantage in a sharp and unbalanced position. The main difficulty lay in managing the clock, and Gukesh found himself under severe time pressure in a middlegame that remained highly complex.
As the time control approached, the world champion allowed his advantage to slip, and the balance of the game swung towards Abdusattorov. There was still a twist, however, when the Uzbek grandmaster went astray himself, momentarily giving Gukesh realistic hopes of saving the game. In the end, though, the decisive mistake came once again from the world champion, allowing Abdusattorov to advance his g-pawn and force the win.
Following a battle full of ups and downs, it is Gukesh's mistaken 67...Qf7?? which decides the mistake. Correct was 67...Qd6, and it is tough for White to make progress while avoiding a simplification into an opposite-coloured bishop endgame.
Abdusattorov found the crushing 68.g5! Bf3 69.g6!
Gukesh decided to call it a day. If, for example, 69...hxg6 White wins with 70.Qxc7+ Qxc7 71.Bxc7, and there is no way to stop the h-pawn.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
The remaining two games were also decisive. Parham Maghsoodloo defeated Vincent Keymer, while David Anton prevailed against Aravindh Chithambaram. The clean sweep of decisive results made round five a turning point in the tournament, as the players will get a free day on Monday ahead of the final four rounds of action.
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