The fifth round of the World Youth Chess Olympiad 2017 was something the pundits were looking forward to, with saliva dropping from their mouth. First up was the Russia vs. Uzbekistan clash on the top table.
IM Semen Lamasov, rated 2516, the Russian trump card on the top board lived up to his billing and defeated Uzbek top seed IM Nodirbek Yakubboev, rated 2448. Meanwhile, IM Sergei Lobanov, rated 2441, settled for a draw with IM Shamsiddin Vokhidov.