Giri, Indjic, Dai Lead Sharjah Masters, Oro Hunts 1st GM Norm

GM Anish Giri leads the 2025 Sharjah Masters with 4 factors from 5 rounds, along with GMs Aleksandar Indjic and Dai Changren. The group simply half some extent behind contains 2700 stars GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Parham Maghsoodloo, but in addition youngsters akin to GMs Ivan Zemlyanskii and Andy Woodward, whereas 11-year-old Faustino Oro, on 3/5, is presently on target to beat GM Gukesh Dommaraju‘s document because the youngest participant ever to attain a GM norm.       

Spherical six begins Thursday, Might 22, at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CEST / 4:30 p.m. IST.

Sharjah Masters Standings After Spherical 5 (Prime 30)

Full video games/outcomes

The eighth version of the Sharjah Masters is a nine-round Swiss match operating Might 17-25 within the Sharjah Chess Membership within the United Arab Emirates. The occasion, with a $15,000 prime prize, is an open match, however the A Group, with 82 gamers, is for gamers rated 2500 and above, so that everybody within the occasion is grandmaster energy. 

The highest seed is world number-six Nodirbek Abdusattorov, whose three attracts and two wins have been a mediocre begin that would have been a lot worse—he was dropping his first sport towards S P Sethuraman.

Abdusattorov is one participant juggling enjoying in Sharjah with the 2025 Chess.com Traditional. As an example, his 18-move draw with GM Adam Kozak in spherical 5 could have been influenced by figuring out he was scheduled to play GM Magnus Carlsen within the Winners Semifinals a couple of hours later (Carlsen received 3-1, however Abdusattorov remains to be alive within the Losers Bracket).   

An enormous incentive for the highest gamers in Sharjah is the 20.94 FIDE Circuit factors on provide for clear first place, a tally that will launch Abdusattorov, Giri, or Maghsoodloo into third place behind GMs Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Ding Liren on the FIDE Circuit Leaderboard, whereas 18-year-old Iranian GM Bardiya Daneshvar may probably transfer into second.  

Up to now the one favourite within the main pack is world number-18 Giri, who acquired off to an ideal begin towards GM Rinat Jumabayev. Giri bamboozled his Kazakh opponent within the opening, however had let the benefit slip till Jumabayev went astray with two seconds on his clock. 39…h4! would have drawn, however 39…Rxe4? ran right into a crunching profitable transfer.

Giri additionally defeated 18-year-old GM Pranav Anand after which 14-year-old GM Zemlyanskii, breaking via in fashion within the latter sport to create unstoppable handed pawns.

Zemlyanskii bounced again in spherical 5 to defeat 18-year-old GM Emin Ohanyan in 31 strikes with an accuracy rating of 99.5 and is acting at over a 2750 stage, whereas Giri is joined within the lead by two gamers. 

One is Serbian 2024 European Chess Champion Indjic, who survived a scare within the first sport to energy to three.5/4. His most dramatic win got here towards GM Mihail Nikitenko in spherical 4, with Indjic saying afterward:

Extraordinarily sophisticated sport and total I really feel ecstatic that I succeeded in profitable such an vital sport. Additionally for me it’s vital because the Trendy Benoni is my favourite opening, so I’m all the time blissful once I improve the gathering of attention-grabbing victories there. 

Indjic admitted the opening had gone fallacious, however he discovered an incredible useful resource to show the tables, and even after lacking one other key transfer he finally managed to create a checkmating internet towards his opponent’s king and win on transfer 75.

The opposite chief is extra of a shock, with 26-year-old Chinese language GM Dai having a peak score of 2536, however enjoying at an virtually 2900 stage after three huge wins towards prime opposition.

His largest win got here towards fifth seed GM Amin Tabatabaei, whose 26…Bxc3?, as a substitute of merely taking the knight on d7, was punished in brutal style. Another mistake six strikes later and there was no manner again.

The battle for first place will intensify in spherical six, with Indjic taking over Dai, whereas Maghsoodloo has White towards Giri.

There’s loads extra to look out for, nevertheless. We have already flagged up numerous younger gamers, with one standout efficiency coming from 15-year-old US GM Woodward, whose wins towards GMs Alexandr Predke and Leon Luke Mendonca should be among the many most spectacular of his younger profession. Most eyes, nevertheless, are on 11-year-old Oro, who can beat Gukesh’s document because the youngest participant ever to attain a GM norm by virtually 4 months.

Listed here are Oro’s outcomes up to now.

The Argentinian wants to complete with a 2600+ efficiency and is presently on observe with a 2650-level, although it hasn’t been simple. He pulled off an unbelievable escape towards GM Vahap Sanal within the very first spherical, then the 86-move win towards GM Mahammad Muradli in spherical two was an emotional rollercoaster.

There is no time added after the unique 90 minutes in Sharjah, in order that lots of the video games have been determined in permament time bother with solely the 30-second increment per transfer. Oro acquired down to 1 second on his clock on strikes 40 and 43, however on transfer 53 noticed a profitable trick. It wasn’t really easy, nevertheless, since Muradli may have escaped as late as transfer 80! 

Two factors out of 4 could suffice for Oro within the following rounds, although that is after all a lot simpler mentioned than finished towards such sturdy opposition. 

The occasion in Sharjah can be an incredible probability for the strongest feminine gamers, with IM Bibisara Assaubayeva presently on 2.5/5 and inside touching distance of scoring a closing GM norm to earn the grandmaster title.

On 2/5, after 4 attracts and one loss, are GM Zhu Jiner and IM Divya Deshmukh, with a fourth attract a row having taken Zhu as much as the ladies’s world number-three spot.

It was a rollercoaster, however Zhu Jiner’s 4th attract Sharjah has taken her as much as World no. 3 on the Girls’s @2700chess reside score checklist! https://t.co/riQc9H0Cvs pic.twitter.com/Ywfk3SR2pL

— chess24 (@chess24com) Might 20, 2025

A loss to Paravyan knocked her down, however up to now the Chinese language 22-year-old has carried out properly on the again of profitable the FIDE Girls’s Grand Prix sequence.   

With 4 rounds to go, something can nonetheless occur!