There was much that was odd about round 5, and it wasn’t limited to the sensation of the round, Ju Wenjun’s convincing (though not perfectly played) upset of Alireza Firouzja. There were fewer decisive games than in any prior round - and no wins by Black - and the play seemed rather ragged. It was what you’d expect from exhausted players before a rest day, not from supposedly re-energized players after their day off.
Let’s start with Ju Wenjun-Firouzja. The women’s world champ played the Exchange Variation against the French, a decision that should be punished with 0-1 (or at best a draw after suffering for at least 70 moves or so). Instead, Firouzja chose a line that left him with a chronically terrible queenside structure, and even though it was “officially” equal he was the one with more opportunities to go awry. He soon did, and although Ju’s technique was never going to be confused with Magnus Carlsen’s, she didn’t play any worse than Firouzja and eventually ground out the point. It was a huge rating upset, and a major upset in terms of the crosstable as well, with the player tied for second-to-last defeating the player in clear second. As they say, that’s why they play the games.
The day’s other win went to Dommaraju Gukesh, who defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi. Nepo was equal-to-marginally worse for a long time, but unlike Firouzja he wasn’t ground down. He simply blundered: 34…Bb4?? allowed 35.Nxc6, winning material and breaking into Black’s position. He did get one brief chance after the time control to keep some fight in the game, but after missing/rejecting 42…Qxe3 43.Nd5 Qf2 White’s win was straightforward.
Alexander Donchenko vs. Jorden Van Foreest and Vidit Gujrathi vs. Max Warmerdam were uneventful draws, but Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa had a significant advantage against Anish Giri (until he played 34.Rxd6), Nodirbek Abdusattorov was doing a good job of grinding away against Wei Yi (until 31.Qg3), and Parham Maghsoodloo’s attack against Ding Liren might have given the champ a second straight loss (until 18.Kh1). It’s not that Pragg, Abdusattorov, or Maghsoodloo had a win at their fingertips until it slipped away, but they had their opponents on the ropes.
For the details, have a look a the games (with my notes) here. Will round 6 be a triumph for those trying to convert their advantages, or for those trying to resist? We’ll see, as the following battles take place:
Ju Wenjun (2) - Vidit (2.5)
Van Foreest (2) - Gukesh (2.5)
Nepomniachtchi (2.5) - Praggnanandhaa (3)
Giri (4) - Maghsoodloo (1)
Firouzja (3) - Wei Yi (3)
Ding Liren (2.5) - Abdusattorov (3)
Warmerdam (2.5) - Donchenko (1.5)