Overview

• Parham Maghsoodloo retained first place after round 6 in Samarkand, drawing with Arjun Erigaisi on a quiet day at the top.
• Anish Giri defeated Marc’Andria Maurizzi to jump into shared second, keeping his bid for a 2026 Candidates place on track.
• Abhimanyu Mishra, 16, beat reigning world champion D Gukesh in round 5, becoming the youngest ever to defeat a sitting champion in classical chess.
• Round 5 also saw Parham Maghsoodloo overcome Richard Rapport to reach 4.5/5, while top seed R Praggnanandhaa lost to Matthias Bluebaum.
• In the Women’s Grand Swiss, R Vaishali remained unbeaten and in a joint lead after drawing with Kateryna Lagno, as Dinara Wagner and Ulviyya Fataliyeva joined the leaders on 4/5; both events are 11 rounds with two Candidates berths and prize funds of $625,000 (Open) and $230,000 (Women’s).