Round 5 :–Asian Individual Chess Championship 2025

Former National Champion Grandmaster Murali Karthikeyan and Grandmaster Daneshvar Bardiya (Iran) continued to be in the top position by scoring smooth victories over Aleksey Grebnev (Russia) & P. Iniyan in the 5th round of the open section of Asian Individual Chess Championships being held at Danat Resort, Al Ain, UAE. The top seed Nihal Sarin suffered a setback at hands of Sergie Lobanov of Russia.

In the Women’s section, WGM Srija Sheshadri joined Bodnaruk Anastasia & Mungunzul Bat-Erdene in the lead with a crushing victory over Xeniya Balabayeya of Russia. National Women’s Champion P. V. Nandhidhaa & Olympiad Gold Medalist Vantika Agrawal are in second spot with 4 points each, just half a point behind Srija, Anastasia and Mungunzul.