Superbet Classic: Caruana sole leader at the halfway mark

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
7/2/2024 – All games in round 5 of the Superbet Chess Classic ended drawn, leaving Fabiano Caruana as the sole leader in the standings. The biggest chance missed on Sunday was Praggnanandhaa’s, who failed to make the most of a mistake made by Wesley So. Pragg is tied for second place with Gukesh, who drew his game with white against Nodirbek Abdusattorov. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Pragg fails to punish So’s blunder

For a second time at the 2024 Superbet Chess Classic, all five games ended drawn in a single round. Much like in round 3, chances were missed in the fifth round at the Grand Hotel Bucharest. The five split points left Fabiano Caruana atop the standings with 3½ points, while Indian prodigies Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh continue to share second place a half point back.

The player who missed the biggest chance to score a full point on Sunday was Pragg, who was playing black against Wesley So. In an endgame with queens, rooks and minor pieces still on the board, the Indian youngster failed to find a geometric pattern that would have granted him a second victory in the event.

In Tuesday’s sixth round, both Caruana and Pragg will play white, against Ian Nepomniachtchi and Bogdan-Daniel Deac respectively. Gukesh, in the meantime, will have the black pieces against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Results - Round 5

Gukesh

Tied for second place — Dommaraju Gukesh | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Garry Kasparov

Former world champion Garry Kasparov | Photo: Lennart Ootes

So ½ - ½ Praggnanandhaa

Analysis by André Schulz

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 5

All games

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.