GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan is quickly gaining ground on GMs Alexander Grischuk and Wesley So going into the fifth round of the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest with a score of 7.5 to So’s 8 and Grischuk’s 7.75.

#PlayerRtgPerf1234567890PtsSB
1Wesley So27702825½½½½13.0/58
2Alexander Grischuk27762808½½½1½3.0/57.75
3Shakhriyar Mamedyarov27702789½½½½13.0/57.5
4Teimour Radjabov27652781½½½½½2.5/56.25
5Bogdan-Daniel Deac26272771½0½½12.5/56
6Levon Aronian27812758½½½½½2.5/55.75
7Fabiano Caruana282027510½½½12.5/55.5
8Anish Giri27802660½½½½02.0/55
9Maxime Vachier-Lagrave27602651½½0½½2.0/55
10Constantin Lupulescu265627110½01½2.0/54.25

After getting off to a sleepy start, the games have started to get more interesting as well. It’s obvious that Anish Giri’s loss the other day affected him severely as he’s fallen to 8th place in the standings with a score of 5. Mamedyarov’s game and performance from Round 4 has certainly been of interest given his quick rise and challenge to the tournament’s current leaders.

Today was a rest day for the players, but tomorrow we get back to business as So and Grischuk work to maintain their leads. But…in chess, like life, anything can happen. You can read more in-depth analysis on Chess.com or The Week in Chess.