Carlsen stages recovery as Narayanan takes sole lead

Former winner and a five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway yesterday recovered from his draw in the previous round to defeat Indian GM Subramaniyam Bharath on day five of the $120,000 Qatar Masters where Indian GM SL Narayanan has the sole lead.Carlsen, the world’s top-ranked player, now has 3.5 points and is in 14th place overall after five rounds at Lusail Sports Arena.
The Norwegian’s victory yesterday was a welcome relief for the world champion who had drawn his previous two games. Carlsen played a solid game yesterday and Subramaniam was unable to find any weaknesses in his position.
Narayanan, seeded 13th in the tournament, yesterday defeated India’s D Gukesh. Narayanan has 4.5 points to sit at the top of the standings.
“I knew that he doesn’t play Bishop C5 so I thought let’s go for this,” Carlsen said after his win yesterday.
“... G6 surprised me a little bit because I expected G5. I mean it wasn’t an unpleasant surprise for me. These systems are very playable,” he added.
“This game was a little bit tougher than it should have been but I am happy to win.
“The rest day has come which I desperately needed,” he said with a smile. “I am going to play golf. I mean I am terrible at golf (smiles) but I love to play the game. I will play with my sister and brother-in-law. I think that will be good,” he added.
American Hikaru Nakamura, the world’s third-ranked player, yesterday was held to a draw by Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov. Nakamura has 4 points and is in second place.
Dutchman Anish Giri, world’s seventh-ranked player, suffered his first loss of the tournament to Rudik Makarian. Giri has 3.5 points and has fallen to 33rd place. Giri’s loss to Makarian was a surprise as he is one of the most talented players in the world. However, Makarian played a strong game and Giri was unable to recover from his early mistakes.
Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi, seeded sixth in the tournament, drew with Kazakh Rinat Jumabayev. Erigaisi has 4 points and is in 4th spot. Also yesterday, Uzbek GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov beat Indian GM Venkataraman Karthik to sit confident at 4 points after the fifth round.
In other results, UAE’s Salem Abdul Rahman lost to Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo while Seyed Khalil Mousavi (Iran) drew with Grigoriy Oparin of the US, and Algerian Bilel Bellahcene defeated India’s Nubairshah Shaikh Mohamed.
Erigaisi and Nakamura are both within a half-point of the lead, and they will be looking to close the gap in the coming rounds. Erigaisi is a rising star in the chess world and he has already defeated several top-ranked players in this tournament. Nakamura is a former world champion and he is always a threat in any tournament he enters.
The sixth round competitions will start tomorrow at 3:00pm.
In the International B Championship, Tolentino Rustum of the Philippines is top of the standings at the end of the fifth round with 5 points. Rustum is a very talented player and will be looking to maintain his lead in the coming rounds.
Qatar’s Aziz thrilled
Qatari chess player Hussein Aziz expressed his happiness at participating in the Qatar Masters, which includes a number of world champions and is considered one of the strongest open tournaments on the global stage.
“I am certainly happy to be present in the third edition of the tournament,” Aziz said yesterday.
“I have been present in the previous two editions and I know that the competition is very difficult in light of the presence of the top seeds in the world as well as the holders of international titles,” he added.
“I was able to achieve good results with 5 rounds of the tournament and I am somewhat satisfied with the outcome. I will strive to gain more points during the remaining four rounds in order to improve my international ranking,” he added.
Aziz stressed taking part in the Qatar Masters tournament in the presence of players like Carlsen and Nakamura was a memorable experience.
“I believe that the International Championship B is an important occasion for young male and female players in Qatar and the region.
“The Qatari national team players stand to gain experience when they play with various competitors, in addition to the fact that their presence alongside the champions of the game at the global level has many other gains too,” Aziz concluded.