There are a number of intriguing matchups in round 5. Top seed Almasi is taking on So, the young phenom from the Philippines. Another very interesting matchup is student vs. teacher in Robson vs. Onischuk. Meier now leads the A group and he has white this round. Can he score another win or will Perelshteyn have some opening surprise for him?

In the B group, Finegold has not lost 3 straight games in ages. But Ippolito for sure is gunning for him as he is chasing a GM norm. After an 0-2 start, Yang scored 2 straight wins to get back on track for his IM norm chase. Smith won his 1st game yesterday against tournament leader Antal. He is facing another Knight Raider this round. Rensch, dressed in his Halloween costume yesterday, scored his 1st win in this SPICE Cup. Did the outfit bring him good luck? What will he wear today? The last matchup is between 2 Knight Raiders, Antal and Bykhovsky.

Round 5 pairings

Group A

Almasi – So
Meier – Perelshteyn
Robson – Onischuk

Group B

Kuljasevic – Smith
Yang – Diamant
Rensch – Krush
Ippolito – Finegold
Antal – Bykhovsky

Standings after 4 rounds:

Group A (W = 3 points, D = 1 point, L = 0 point)

1. Meier 8.0
2. So 7.0
3. Almasi, 6.0
4. Onischuk 5.0
5-6. Robson, Perelshteyn 2.0

Group B

1. Bykhovsky 3.0
2-5. Antal, Diamant, Ippolito, Smith 2.5
6-7. Kuljasevic, Yang 2.0
8-10. Finegold, Krush, Rensch 1.0

Games can be seen on Chessdom / Chessbomb, ICC, Monroi, TWIC, chess.com, etc.

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Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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