Chess Candidates 2024 Highlights: Gukesh loses after time scramble; Pragg, Vidit, Humpy draw; Vaishali resigns

Vidit Santosh Gujrathi had good chances against Nijat Abasov but, unfortunately, did not find the most critical continuation of his kingside attack. 

After 41. gxh4, Vidit could have brought the rook into the attack with 41…Rh7, which promised very good chances for Black. After 41…g4, the continuation in the game, Abasov got a chance to regroup and defend. The game ended in a draw. 

The game featuring Praggnanandhaa R and Fabiano Caruana was a much calmer affair and ended in a draw. Both players are trailing the leader by half a point. 

(Courtesy: FIDE)

Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi blitzed out over 20 moves in a sharp line of the Petrov Defence, before Nepomniachtchi thought for 17 minutes on 22…Nd7. Nakamura also went for a 17-minute think before responding with 23. Nef3, and from there, both players were on their own. 

(Courtesy: FIDE)

Lei Tingjie was the only winner of the day in the FIDE Women’s Candidates. She played a lopsided game against Vaishali R, scoring a second consecutive win. 

“I think the game was very complicated, and at some point in the opening, I was a little worse,” shared Lei after the game. “Later on, the position was very strange with those four knights in the center. Generally, I think this game was not so good.”

With this win, Lei climbed to joint third place alongside Lagno and is now half a point behind Goryachkina in second place. Tan Zhongyi, on five points, remains the sole leader of the event going into the second rest day. 

(Courtesy: FIDE)

At the halfway point of the tournament, Anna Muzychuk and Humpy Koneru, both of whom find themselves at the bottom of the standings, also made a draw. They are going to recharge their batteries during tomorrow’s free day, hoping for a better second half of the tournament. 

Courtesy: FIDE)

Kateryna Lagno was putting pressure on Nurgyul Salimova with the White pieces, but Black defended well, and the draw was quickly agreed upon. “I sacrificed this pawn (16. Nxc4); I knew this idea, of course. I was sure I was fine, but when I castled and played 16…f6, I had other possibilities, too, so it was quite messy for me. I saw many possibilities and was not exactly sure which one to choose. The way I played led me to a draw, so maybe it was good,” said Salimova after the game. 

(Courtesy: FIDE)

In the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, Round 6’s fierce battles transformed into calmer ones in Round 7, with three games ending in draws. Aleksandra Goryachkina, playing with White, did not manage to pose serious problems to the tournament’s leader, Tan Zhongyi. 

(Courtesy: FIDE)

Alireza Firouzja beat Gukesh D

Hikaru Nakamura drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi

Fabiano Caruana  drew with Praggnanandhaa R

Nijat Abasov drew with Vidit Santosh Gujrathi

Lei Tingjie beat Vaishali Rameshbabu

Kateryna Lagno drew with Nurgyul Salimova

Aleksandra Goryachkina drew with Tan Zhongyi

Anna Muzychuk drew with Humpy Koneru

In 2013, right after Magnus Carlsen won the Candidates tournament in London, a photograph by Norwegian photographer Morten Rakke went viral. In it, the grandmaster is captured behind a door, slumped on the handrail of a staircase, shirt untucked, his face buried into his arm. 

Barely had the world championship challenger caught his breath after qualifying for the world championship, he was interviewed by International Master Lawrence Trent, who asked him how he planned to celebrate his victory. Carlsen’s answer was revealing. “My thoughts have not gone further than getting back to my hotel and lying down. That’s what’s next for me.”

Trent prodded him further, asking if he was more exhausted physically or emotionally. “It’s a lethal combination right now,” offered Carlsen. 

That was probably the last time the world has seen Carlsen exhausted by the rigours of elite chess. In the decade that has followed, Carlsen scythed his way through the world of chess, racking up five crowns after battling through five World Championship jousts, before eventually abdicating his throne. 

A case can be made that the World Championship battle is more forgiving than the Candidates. If you err, you come back with redrawn battle plans and take on the same opponent once more. At the Candidates, though, one loss can suddenly become a slippery slope to the bottom of the standings.  

Qualified for Candidates by: Finishing 2nd at 2023 World Cup 

Rating: 2747

Ranking: World No 14

One fact you need to know: The 18-year-old Pragg became the world’s youngest player to reach the Chess World Cup final, where he qualified for the 2024 Candidates Tournament. On his way, he defeated the likes of Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, both of whom are at the Candidates, besides defeating good friend and current India No 1, Arjun Erigaisi.  

Qualified for Candidates as: 2023 FIDE Circuit Winner

Rating: 2743

Ranking: World No 16

One fact you need to know: The 17-year-old Gukesh is the second youngest participant in the Candidates in history, after Bobby Fischer. He became a Grandmaster at the age of 12 years, 7 months and 17 days in January 2019, thus becoming the second youngest GM ever. Over the years, Gukesh has strung together many firsts. He became the youngest player to surpass a rating of 2750+, and became the first Indian to overhaul the five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand as India's top-ranked player in the FIDE's published rankings after 36 years. 

Qualified for Candidates by: Finishing 1st at 2023 Grand Swiss 

Rating: 2727

Ranking: World No 25

One fact you need to know: The 29-year-old Vidit, who is competing in his first Candidates event, worked with grandmaster Anish Giri at a training camp in the past as the Dutch player prepared for the Candidates tournament himself. 

In an interview with Chess dot com before the start of the Candidates, Magnus Carlsen had given his assessment of each of the eight players' chances. Here's what he had said about the Indians. Two of them are joint second at the halfway stage of the tournament: 

Magnus’ verdict on Praggnanandhaa: “I don’t think Pragg is ready to win the tournament. He’s very unlikely to win. But I also cannot see it going really poorly for him. He has weak moments, but he’s fairly stable psychologically. He has an improving repertoire and is very serious.”

Magnus’ verdict on Gukesh: “I cannot imagine him winning the Candidates. I can see him being anywhere from +2 to -5 (at the end of the tournament). I think he will certainly win at least a couple of games, but will have some fairly bad losses as well. I don’t think he will do poorly, but I don’t think he will do too well either. He’s not quite ready yet to make the leap. It’s more likely that he has a bad event.”

Magnus’ verdict on Vidit Santosh Gujrathi: “Vidit has improved a lot, especially from a psychological point. I’m sure he will be very serious and well prepared. He will not win the tournament. Although, I feel he has the capacity to make a really good score if things go his way. I really like the way he plays. But I can also see him losing quite a few games. He’s more likely to make a -4 score than +3 (by the end).”

When a classical game stretches on for 5 or 6 hours, chess players allow their mind to "go on strike" for brief moments. Here are the oddest thoughts chess players like Viswanathan Anand, Gukesh, Mikhail Tal, Vachier-Lagrave and Grischuk entertained in the middle of games.

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“(Vishy) Anand sir has been my idol since the time I started playing chess. He’s one of the prominent reasons why I started playing the sport actually," Gukesh had told The Indian Express in an exclusive interview in June last year when he was on the verge of becoming India's top-ranked chess player ahead of Anand, who had held the spot for 36 years.

"Overtaking Anand sir would be something memorable for me. But no matter how many Indians get to the next level, get to the Candidates or maybe even enter the World Championships and become the World Champion, Anand sir will always be the special one. He started all this. Without him, this success (for Indian chess players) would not be possible. So no matter what, he will always be the greatest Indian chess player. Overtaking him would be nice but I have more important goals to look forward to,” Gukesh had told The Indian Express in an exclusive interview. 

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Gukesh, the 17-year-old prodigy from Chennai, let slip the chance to stand alone on the top of the open category standings at the prestigious Candidates chess tournament after seven rounds.

Coming into Round 7, Gukesh was sharing top spot in the open category standings with two-time World Chess Championship contender Ian Nepomniachtchi. The Russian was held to a draw by World no 3 Hikaru Nakamura, which meant that if Gukesh could manage to win, he would go into the tournament’s second rest day as the sole leader. The rest day also marks the halfway point of the double round robin tournament.

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Before he managed to defeat Gukesh, he was the one severely in time trouble. He was a pawn down at one stage and had just nine minutes to make 18 moves!

But he started blitzing out his moves, playing with accuracy and purpose and Gukesh suddenly found himself in trouble on the clock, which led to the blunders. 

Alireza Firouzja beat Gukesh D

Hikaru Nakamura drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi

Fabiano Caruana  drew with Praggnanandhaa R

Nijat Abasov drew with Vidit Santosh Gujrathi

Lei Tingjie beat Vaishali Rameshbabu

Kateryna Lagno drew with Nurgyul Salimova

Aleksandra Goryachkina drew with Tan Zhongyi

Anna Muzychuk drew with Humpy Koneru

So no victories for Indians in Round 7 as Vidit is held to a draw by rank underdog Nijat Abasov. Just like Gukesh, Vidit had the upper hand initially, but could not capitalise. 

Here's how the Vidit vs Abasov game played out 

Under massive time pressure, 17-year-old loses!! 

And look at the emotions! just some minutes ago, there was a possibility that he could become the sole leader going into the rest day at the halfway stage. 

It's a draw in the Caruana-Praggnanandhaa game after 41 moves. Both players are still in joint third place behind the current leader Nepomniachtchi!

Here are all the moves from the Alireza Firouzja vs Gukesh game:

The French GM is under massive time trouble. He needs to make 13 moves in just about 3 minutes! Massive pressure on him there with the game on the line against Gukesh. 

Playing with the black pieces, Vaishali has been forced to resign after 36 moves! 

Here's how the game played out:

At some point during the Lei Tingjie vs Vaishali Rameshbabu game, we had this interesting position with all four knights sitting on the central squares. 

Vaishali has just about 1 minute 30 seconds to make 8 moves now in the game against Lei Tingjie. 

After a 40-move tussle against Anna Muzychuk, the veteran Humpy agrees to a draw. 

Both players were at the bottom of the standings before the start of the game. Now they have 2.5 points each after 7 rounds. 

Here's a look at how the game panned out:

What a battle between Nepo and Nakamura, both on the table and via facial epxressions. But after everything, they agree to a draw. And that means 17-year-old Gukesh can become sole leader at the end of the day if he can defeat Alireza Firouzja.

Meanwhile, here's how all the moves from the Nepo vs Nakamura game played out: 

What a battle between Nepo and Nakamura, both on the table and via facial epxressions. But after everything, they agree to a draw. And that means 17-year-old Gukesh can become sole leader at the end of the day if he can defeat Alireza Firouzja.

Meanwhile, here's how all the moves from the Nepo vs Nakamura game played out: 

Both players are still almost level on time and on material on the board after 31 moves. They're also tied in third position in the standings.

1 e4 e6
2 d4 d5
3 e5 c5
4 c3 Nc6
5 Nf3 Qb6
6 a3 Bd7
7 b4 cxd4
8 cxd4 Rc8
9 Bb2 Nge7
10 Nc3 Na5
11 Na4 Qc6
12 Nc5 Nc4
13 Bc3 b6
14 Nxd7 Qxd7
15 Bd3 g6
16 Qe2 h5
17 Bd2 Nxd2
18 Nxd2 Bh6
19 Bb5 Nc6
20 Nf3 O-O
21 O-O Qe7
22 Ba6 Rc7
23 Rfd1 Nb8
24 Bd3 a5
25 bxa5 bxa5
26 Qe1 Nc6
27 Rdb1 Ra8
28 Bb5 Qd8
29 g3 Ne7
30 Kg2 Qc8
31 Qd1 Rc3

WHO DID THE DRAMATIC FACIAL EXPRESSIONS BETTER? NEPO (ABOVE) OR NAKAMURA (BELOW)

Vishy Anand on Hikaru Nakamura vs Ian Nepomniachtchi: “Right now, there are two lonely computer engines sitting somewhere, feeling like they are not getting any credit for their lovely work.”

Here are all the moves from the Naka vs Nepo game 

1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nf6
3 Nxe5 d6
4 Nf3 Nxe4
5 d4 d5
6 Bd3 Bd6
7 O-O O-O
8 c4 c6
9 Re1 Bf5
10 Qb3 Qd7
11 c5 Bc7
12 g3 a5
13 Nbd2 Be6
14 Qxb7 Nxf2
15 Bxh7+ Kxh7
16 Qxa8 Nh3+
17 Kg2 Bg4
18 Qb7 Re8
19 Qb3 Rxe1
20 Nxe1 Qe6
21 Qd3+ Bf5
22 Qf1 Nd7
23 Nef3 Nf6
24 Ng1 Kg8
25 Qe2 Ne4

One cursory glance at the board for the Pragg vs Caruana game, and Vishy Anand declared, "Seems like this one is heading for a draw."

Both players are level on material, having lost two pawns, a knight and a bishop so far. 

Here's what the board looks like presently: 

"They've ended up in a very, very difficult position. They have, despite everything, stumbled out of their preparation and every little move seems to matter," opined Vishy Anand on the official broadcast. "A lot of the best moves seem to be mysterious. So there's a lot of action left in this game" 

Just like his opponent, Nakamura seems to be under pressure by how this game has shaped up. 

Here are the first 14 moves from the Gukesh vs Alireza Firouzja game where the Indian teenager is playing with black pieces

1 d4 Nf6
2 Bf4 d5
3 e3 c5
4 Nf3 e6 
5 Nbd2 Qb6
6 Rb1 cxd4
7 exd4 Bd7
8 c3 Bb5
9 h4 Nbd7
10 Rh3 Be7
11 h5 h6
12 a4 Bxf1
13 Kxf1 O-O
14 Kg1 Qc6

The tournament leader is under significant stress. Hikaru posing problems for the Russian, who is 55 minutes behind on time at the moment. 

The French GM is under time pressure now, with Gukesh having almost 25 minutes more on the clock after just 13 moves. 

As Nepo takes his time trying to think about his next move, and goes into his customary "head-down" napping pose, Irina Krush asks Anand if he ever thought like this on the board. 

"I have looked at the ceiling. But not done the full flat bed," quips Anand. 

Pragg plays the French against Caruana. And just like the rest of his compatriots in the open section, Pragg is playing with Black!

Remember, at the FIDE World Cup, when Pragg had qualified after finishing second, Caruana was one of those he had defeated. 

Vidit took four minutes to play his first move, 1...e5 in the game against Abasov, who comes into the game after losing to Vidit's India compatriots Gukesh and Pragg. 

With a ranking in triple figures, and a rating of 2632, Abasov was supposed to be the pre-tournament underdog. Then, Abasov also tore his ACL in the months leading to the event. 

He only qualified for the Candidates by finishing 4th at 2023 World Cup, thanks to Carlsen refusing to compete at the Candidates. At the World Cup, he went on a giant-killing run despite starting as the 69th seed, defeating the likes of Anish Giri, Peter Svidler (who’s a trainer for Pragg for the Candidates), and Vidit Gujrathi (his opponent today).

He’s so far yet to touch the hallowed 2700 rating mark. 

Before the event started, Magnus Carlsen had given a brutal prediction for Abasov. 

“I think he’s most likely going to suffer. Once you start losing it’s hard to stop the bleeding when you’re a considerably weaker player than the others, which I think Abasov is. He will not have it easy,” he told Chess.com. 

The Open section saw a string of great results for Indian chess players. Praggnanandhaa R and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi won their games against Nijat Abasov and Alireza Firouzja respectively. And Gukesh, despite drawing, managed to stay on top of the standings.

Praggnanandhaa vs Nijat Abasov

Praggnanandhaa joked at the press conference that he’s always trying to play solid but somehow manages to end up in messy double-edged positions. The game against Abasov was another mind-bending one, with numerous beautiful lines that did not appear on the board. The Indian star calculated more precisely than his opponent and was rewarded with a victory, putting him in joint third place. After their extensive analysis, the players agreed that the best try for Black was 34…Be6 instead of 34…g5, to retain greater chances of defending successfully. Praggnanandhaa’s confident answer (“no”) to whether he ever gets tired towards the end of the game with such insane calculations on every move is a clear sign to his rivals that he should not be underestimated.  

Vidit Santosh Gujrathi vs Alireza Firouzja

By now, we can proclaim Vidit a crowd favourite. With his exciting playstyle, he has been joining the post-game press conferences almost every day, and luckily it was for a good reason today. In his game today against Alireza Firouzja, everything went right for him. The Frenchman chose to play the Sicilian Defence and deviated from the most popular lines, playing 8…Qd8 in the Classical Variation and subsequent moves very quickly. Previously, this has been unsuccessfully tried by Boris Gelfand. Vidit, playing with White, castled long and started to directly attack Black’s king with 13. g4. Firouzja accepted the challenge and responded by taking the pawn on f2 (13…Qxf2). After 17 minutes of careful consideration, Vidit went for a central blow, playing 14. e5 and capturing the pawn back on the next move (15. exd6). With equal material but with vastly more active pieces, White’s position was clearly superior. On move 26, Vidit won an exchange and converted his advantage without great difficulty. 

When asked to justify Firouzja’s quick opening play that led to a difficult position, Vidit said: “Probably it’s a bit of tilt. He lost yesterday, he’s on -3, and the tournament is not going his way. It happens; sometimes you become a bit emotional when you’re tilted.”

Gukesh vs Hikaru Nakamura

Gukesh, one of the two joint tournament leaders, managed to get a completely new position on move seven against Hikaru Nakamura in the Hyperaccelerated Dragon variant of the Sicilian Defense. The game took a quiet path and a draw was a logical result. 

“I thought I had a slight pull in the opening, but [his] 14…Nc8 idea was very strong. I could not really see anything for White after that,” commented Gukesh after the game. 

Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Fabiano Caruana

Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana played a quiet Four Knights Game, following the well-known line for 10 moves. Nepomniachtchi, playing with White, was mostly expecting a Sicilian Defence from Caruana, as he had already played it twice in this tournament. He tried a new move 16. Re1, but the game nevertheless quickly transformed to a drawish endgame. As the game progressed, the tournament’s co-leader thought that he could press a bit with White and declined a move repetition on move 32. However, Black’s defensive task was not difficult and Caruana found all the right moves to end the game by splitting the point.   

(Courtesy FIDE Press)

An incredible day at the Candidates ended with six decisive results in eight games. After the women's section saw four draws in Round 5, there were four results in Round 6.

Tan Zhongyi vs Anna Muzychuk

Tan Zhongyi kept her lead over the rest of the field with a third victory, this time playing with white pieces against Anna Muzychuk. After a few inaccuracies from black, Tan unraveled a strong attack, first leaving her dark-squared bishop up for grabs with 20. Nd4, and then sacrificing her light-squared bishop on h7 on move 28. The position was winning for white, but Tan did not play precisely and gave Muzychuk a chance to escape towards the end of the game. The Ukrainian player, however, did not find the 34…Bxe6 resource in time trouble and resigned soon after. At the press conference, Tan confessed that she was not happy with her calculation during the game and deliberately played quickly at the end to put pressure on Muzychuk’s clock. After Round 6, Tan has won three games and has made three draws. With 4,5 out of 6, she is in clear first place.

Aleksandra Goryachkina vs Nurgyul Salimova

Aleksandra Goryachkina continues to lead the pack hoping to catch Tan Zhongyi, with a win against Nurgyul Salimova with the black pieces today. At the post-game interview, Goryachkina confessed that it was not a difficult game for her, as everything went smoothly, and she did not give many opportunities for Salimova to create counterplay.

Kateryna Lagno vs Vaishali

Kateryna Lagno won her first game in the tournament against Vaishali. After a series of disappointing draws, she was happy to have a positive result and was radiating with delight after the game. “When she took the piece on b4 (21. Qxb4), I didn’t think she can hold this position. Maybe she should have played something like 21. Re3, but I think there is 21…Qd1+ 22. Bf1 and 22…Nc2, so this should be already good for me, but I’m not sure if this is winning though,” said Lagno after the game. With 3.5 points, Lagno is now in clear third place. 

Lei Tingjie vs Humpy 

Lei Tingjie also won today with the black pieces, beating Humpy Koneru. Unfortunately for Humpy, this tournament has not been going well for her so far – she now finds herself at the bottom of the standings. The game was complex but equal up to move 35, when the players entered the endgame. Being low on time, Koneru misplayed the position and allowed her opponent to capture a key pawn on a2, after which Black’s passed pawn on the a-file was unstoppable. With this victory, Lei compensates for her loss in the first round and is now back on an even score.

(Courtesy FIDE Press)

17-year-old Indian prodigy D Gukesh is on top of the standing in the open section at the Candidates chess tournament after six rounds, sharing the top spot with Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Gukesh drew his game against World No 3 Hikaru Nakamura on Wednesday as did Nepomniachtchi.

The other two Indians in the open category registered victories in Round 6, with Vidit Gujrathi defeating Alireza Firouzja and Praggnanandhaa beating Nijat Abasov. The two women from India, however, experienced defeats with Humpy Koneru losing to Lei Tingjie and Vaishali Rameshbabu losing to Kateryna Lagno.

CHECK THE CANDIDATES STANDINGS 

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Round 7 of the Candidates chess tournament.