Dubov Takes Sole Lead at KazChess Masters on 4½/6

Daniil Dubov now has the sole lead at the KazChess Masters in Almaty. He won rounds five and six and sits on 4½/6, half a point ahead of Shamsiddin Vokhidov and Denis Lazavik.

Dubov’s score is unbeaten: one win and three draws before this pair of victories. For a player with his reputation for sharp, unorthodox play, a quiet start followed by a late surge is a useful shape in a nine-round event.

A coincidence among the top seeds

Rounds five and six each produced three decisive games, and the winners were identical both days: the three highest-rated players in the field. Mahammad Muradli (2662), Dubov (2654) and Vokhidov (2649) all won twice in a row.

Their routes there were quite different. Muradli had opened with two losses and two draws, so his back-to-back wins only brought him back to 50 percent.

Vokhidov began with two wins, a draw and a loss, and has climbed to 4/6. His loss came to Lazavik in round four, the game that lifted the Belarusian into a share of the lead at that point.

Lazavik is the other unbeaten player

Lazavik is the only player besides Dubov without a defeat. He drew in rounds five and six, which leaves him tied with Vokhidov for second.

Draws kept him close, but they also let Dubov pass him. Lazavik is a half point back, so one decisive result in round seven could change the order again.

The early leaders slip

Kazakh players Edgar Mamedov and Denis Makhnev opened with 2½/3 each. Both drew in round four, and both have since suffered their first defeats.

They stand on 3½/6, a point behind Dubov. That is still within reach with three rounds to play.

Another name worth watching is 14-year-old Mark Smirnov. He won in round four against Sauat Nurgaliyev, his second straight victory.

What round seven brings

Sunday’s round seven sets all three frontrunners, Dubov, Vokhidov and Lazavik, with the black pieces. It is a small but real hurdle for the top of the table, since Black is rarely the side that presses for a win in a tight finish.

The schedule is compressed from here. Rounds seven and eight are on 1 and 2 November, starting at 11:00 AM CET, and the final round is on 3 November at 7:00 AM CET.