Uzchess Cup 2025, Round 6
The carnage continues.
No lead is safe and no player is safe at the Uzchess Cup. First Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu lost in round 5 after looking unstoppable not just in the first four rounds of the event but in 2025 in general, and now Nodirbek Abdusattorov has lost as well. Moreover, Pragg lost a second straight game, this time with the white pieces, to the previously winless Richard Rapport in what is so far the game of the tournament and might prove to be one of the best games of the year. Rapport played brilliantly.
As for Abdusattorov, he lost to fellow Uzbek and Nodirbek Yakubboev. Yakubboev was better for most of a very long game, before gradually losing his “official” advantage to reach rook and bishop vs. rook. Abdusattorov successfully held on for more than 40 moves, but with the 50-move-rule in sight made the fatal error and lost.
The other three games were drawn. Parham Maghsoodloo got nowhere on the white side of a Nimzo-Indian against Ian Nepomniachtchi, but half a point was enough to get him into a tie for first after Abdusattorov’s loss. Arjun Erigaisi is also part of the tie after his up-and-down game with Javokhir Sindarov. First Sindarov was winning, with Black, then Erigaisi had a nearly-decisive advantage, and then it petered out to a draw ending. Finally, Shamshiddin Vokhidov had a serious advantage with the black pieces against Chithambaram Aravindh, but the latter’s stout defense saved the draw.
Here are the games (with my comments), and here are the pairings for round 7:
Nepomniachtchi (2.5) - Praggnanandhaa (3)
Abdusattorov (4) - Maghsoodloo (4)
Vokhidov (1.5) - Yakubboev (3)
Sindarov (3.5) - Aravindh (2)
Rapport (2.5) - Erigaisi (4)