Sindarov makes a statement as the open event gathers pace

Round five of the FIDE Candidates Tournament turned into a memorable day for Javokhir Sindarov. The young grandmaster defeated one of the world’s most experienced and dangerous players, Hikaru Nakamura, to move to an impressive 4.5/5 and strengthen his sole lead. Reaching a +4 score this early in the event is not only a sign of excellent form, but also of growing psychological authority over the field. Sindarov’s start has already placed significant pressure on the rest of the contenders.

The closest pursuer remains Fabiano Caruana. The American star scored a full point against Matthias Bluebaum, preventing the gap from widening further and holding clear second place with 3.5 points. In the other games of the round, Praggnanandhaa R drew with Andrey Esipenko, while Anish Giri and Wei Yi also split the point. After five rounds, the standings read: Sindarov on 4.5 points; Caruana on 3.5; Giri and Praggnanandhaa on 2.5; Bluebaum and Wei Yi on 2; and Esipenko plus Nakamura on 1.5. The table suggests that while Sindarov has created daylight, the chasing pack can still re-enter the race with a strong run of results.

A three-way tie at the top in the Women’s Candidates

The FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament became even more dramatic after round five. In one of the day’s key results, Kateryna Lagno defeated then-leader Bibisara Assaubayeva, thrusting herself right back into the heart of the title race. At the same time, Zhu Jiner scored an impressive victory over Vaishali Rameshbabu and joined the lead. Aleksandra Goryachkina and Anna Muzychuk drew their game, while Tan Zhongyi shared the point with Divya Deshmukh.

As a result, the women’s standings are now finely balanced: Lagno, Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner share first place on 3 points. Assaubayeva and Goryachkina follow closely on 2.5, while Divya Deshmukh, Tan Zhongyi and Vaishali stand on 2 points. In other words, while the open tournament currently features a clear frontrunner, the women’s event is far more compressed, with every round capable of reshaping the leaderboard. At this stage, depth of preparation, opening choices, time management and emotional control will likely prove decisive.

That is the nature of the Candidates: just as a sequence of strong results can create momentum, a single loss can have major psychological consequences. So although Sindarov’s lead is highly impressive, Caruana’s pursuit and the potential recovery of the middle group mean the race remains alive. In the Women’s Candidates, the three-way tie promises sustained tension deep into the event. The road to the World Championship match remains one of the toughest tests in chess, and after round five, both the quality of play and the level of drama have clearly risen.