Summary of Round 5

In the 5th round of the Andranik Margaryan Memorial GM norm tournament,  the leaders Arsen Davtyan and Vladislav Nozdrachev faced each other. Playing with the white pieces, Arsen managed to gain an advantage and gradually increased the pressure.

The game was highly intense and marked by mutual errors, but the decisive moment came on move 30, when White, under time trouble, made a critical blunder.

Four moves later, White resigned, making Vladislav Nozdrachevov the sole leader of the tournament with 4.5 points out of 5.

In other decisive games of the round, Alex Sahakyan defeated Prraneeth Vuppala, and Erik Gasparyan won against Levon Babujyan.

In the IM norm section, Rudolf Pashikyan, the leader after four rounds, faced Andrey Okara. In the middlegame, Pashikyan blundered and missed a beautiful rook sacrifice, leading to a loss. All other games in this section ended in draws.

Currently, the tournament has co-leaders, Rudolf Pashikyan and Vahe Sukiasyan, both with 3.5 points.