Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov caught up to the leaders in the Tata Steel Chess Masters by defeating Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus in a 74-move grind. World champion D Gukesh secured his first win against Thai Dai Van Nguyen, while Vladimir Fedoseev and Vincent Keymer also claimed victories. The round featured four decisive results, setting the stage for a rest day.
The fifth round of the 2026 Tata Steel Chess Masters tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, delivered the most decisive games yet, with four wins out of seven matches. Overnight leaders Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Hans Niemann drew their key encounter in 48 moves, with Abdusattorov holding firm in the Petroff Defence despite Niemann's efforts to create imbalances. This allowed Javokhir Sindarov to join them at 3.5/5 points by overcoming 14-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus. Sindarov capitalized on a tactical oversight, simplifying into a favorable endgame, and persisted through a tense 74-move rook ending to secure the victory with an outside passed pawn.
World champion D Gukesh broke his streak of four draws, defeating Thai Dai Van Nguyen in 51 moves with black pieces. After an Indian Game opening, Gukesh exploited a blunder on move 35 (Rc3) to tilt the evaluation, capturing pawns and forcing resignation despite losing a bishop. Vladimir Fedoseev notched his second win with a brilliant tactical shot against Arjun Erigaisi, who blundered his queen on move 29 (Qd5) and resigned on move 46 down a pawn and knight. As International Master Soumya Swaminathan noted, "This is the risk you take when you go all out in every game like Arjun does... Most of the time it works out for him."
Vincent Keymer rebounded from earlier losses with a convincing attacking win over Aravindh Chithambaram in 36 moves. R Praggnanandhaa remained winless, drawing Anish Giri in 37 moves after mutual queen blunders. Jorden van Foreest pressed Matthias Bluebaum for 74 moves but settled for a draw. Gukesh and Fedoseev now trail the leaders by half a point at 3/5.
In the Challengers, 12-year-old Faustino Oro and Andy Woodward joined Aydin Suleymanli in a three-way lead at 4/5, with Oro sacrificing exchanges to beat Lu Miaoyi and Woodward winning his fourth straight. Eline Roebers earned her first win against Daniil Yuffa, and Carissa Yip defeated Velimir Ivic.
The tournament runs from January 17 to February 1, with round six resuming on January 23 after Thursday's rest day.
