Nodirbek Abdusattorov is on a nice run, winning three in a row and four of his last five. Today (Friday) he had what is at least on paper an ideal pairing, White against the bottom-seed Ju Wenjun, and he made the most of it. He went for an unusual position (and had a little help in that respect), and tactically outfoxed the Women’s World Champion for a quick and (mostly) convincing win. This took his score to 7.5/11, a score which could have been equaled by Dommaraju Gukesh.
Gukesh’s task was a more challenging one: defeat Alireza Firouzja. And yet it was within his grasp, as he had multiple moments with a decisive advantage. Each one slipped, and Firouzja narrowly escaped with a draw. Gukesh is in clear second, half a point behind Abdusattorov and half a point ahead of four players: Anish Giri, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Santosh Vidit Gujrathi, and Wei Yi.
Two of the four accounted for the day’s other wins (besides Abdusattorov’s). Wei Yi demolished Max Warmerdam in a razor-sharp Bishop’s Opening. From a theoretical perspective it doesn’t seem that Wei Yi had anything new up his sleeve; unfortunately for Warmerdam, it didn’t matter. He was insufficiently prepared for the wild line he had chosen to enter, and didn’t manage to figure it out at the board, either.
The other win saw the trappy Parham Maghsoodloo fall into a trap against Vidit. He probably thought his 20.Bxh6 was clever, but he most likely missed Vidit’s 21…Qe7! or the fact that his rook couldn’t escape after 22.Bxg7 Kxg7. Materially he was okay after Black won the exchange (for two pawns), but his king was irreparably weak and he soon lost.
Praggnanandhaa had White against Alexander Donchenko, but this seemingly ideal pairing didn’t pay any dividends. Pragg had a couple of slight, momentary opportunities, nothing more. He managed to reach an ending with an extra pawn but no advantage whatsoever, and Donchenko had no trouble making a draw.
The other game was a non-game between Ding Liren, who achieved nothing with White against Jorden Van Foreest and was content to pull the plug after only 25 moves. (All the games, with my comments, are here.)
Two rounds remain, and if Abdusattorov is in clear first entering the last round it’s hard to see him not winning the event, as he’ll have White against Donchenko. There are no guarantees, of course, and the initial “if” is a substantial one as he’s facing Vidit with Black in round 12. That’s not an easy pairing, especially since Vidit would catch him with a win. Were Vidit to win, and Gukesh draw or lose (to Pragg), there could be as many as five players tied for first, and there could be up to another two players half a point behind them.
Here are the pairings for round 12:
Donchenko (4) - Maghsoodloo (4)
Firouzja (6) - Nepomniachtchi (6)
Van Foreest (4) - Giri (6.5)
Vidit (6.5) - Abdusattorov (7.5)
Gukesh (7) - Praggnanandhaa (6.5)
Ju Wenjun (4) - Wei Yi (6.5)
Warmerdam (4) - Ding Liren (4.5)