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FIDE Candidates 2024 Toronto: D Gukesh closes in on Nepomniachtchi, trails half a point after Round 11

Published at :April 18, 2024 at 12:26 PM

Modified at :April 18, 2024 at 12:26 PM

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(Courtesy : Michal Walusza, Maria Emelianova (FIDE))

Nepomniachtchi regained sole lead.

The FIDE Candidates 2024 is entering its final stages and the tension is palpable. Many games in Round 11 were double-edged and many chances were missed by the players.

Ian Nepomniachtchi’s game against Vidit Santosh Gujrathi was the last to finish today. Playing with the black pieces, Nepomniachtchi had a dubious position.

Instead of the defending move 34. Kd3, which led to Black overtaking the initiative, White could have opted to play 34. h5! This would clear a pathway for the king to reach the f5 and g6 squares; White could also potentially push the pawn to h6. The h5-break was the first thing Vidit showed to Nepomniachtchi after the game finished, clearly disappointed that he did not go for it.

Following this critical moment, the position was still balanced, but White made another grave mistake. Nepomniachtchi thought Vidit was in “sort of a panic,” in reference to 60. Nb2+. After that, the game was lost. This win is a very important result that finds Nepomniachtchi as the sole leader again on 7 points.

Nepomniachtchi’s co-leader going into Round 11, Gukesh D, made a solid draw against Fabiano Caruana and is now trailing by half a point.

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Pic Credit: Michal Walusza, Maria Emelianova (FIDE)

Grandmaster Evgeny Bareev, Canada’s #1 chess player and a previous participant of several Candidates events, made the ceremonial move 1. d4 in the game between Praggnanandhaa R and Hikaru Nakamura. The American player controlled the game solidly with Black before capitalising on his opponent’s mistakes and adding an important win to his scoresheet.

Praggnanandhaa could have gone for a draw several times in the game. Instead, he always chose the more complex continuation and played on, which resulted in Nakamura’s position getting better and better. The American player was precise in converting his advantage, leaving no chances for counterplay for his opponent.

Pic Credit: Michal Walusza, Maria Emelianova (FIDE)

Alireza Firouzja capitalised on Nijat Abasov’s blunder and won in just 24 moves. Black was doing fine in the Zukertort Opening, but on move 15, Abasov made a grave miscalculation.

Pic Credit: Michal Walusza, Maria Emelianova (FIDE)

Instead of 15…e5, the move that cost Black the game, Abasov could have gone for 15…Qe6 and kept a balanced position.

In the line that occurred in the game, Abasov missed that after 15…e5 16. Nc4 f6 17. Rd5, Black cannot play 17…Be6 because of 18. e4 Qg5 19. Be3 Bxd5 and White simply takes 20. exd5 trapping the black queen: 20…Qf5 21. Bg4 Qe4 22.f3. Abasov had to play 17…Rxd5, and the position collapsed for Black soon thereafter.

Pic Credit: Michal Walusza, Maria Emelianova (FIDE)

Instead of 15…e5, the move that cost Black the game, Abasov could have gone for 15…Qe6 and kept a balanced position. In the line that occurred in the game, Abasov missed that after 15…e5 16. Nc4 f6 17. Rd5, Black cannot play 17…Be6 because of 18. e4 Qg5 19. Be3 Bxd5 and White simply takes 20. exd5 trapping the black queen: 20…Qf5 21. Bg4 Qe4 22.f3. Abasov had to play 17…Rxd5, and the position collapsed for Black soon thereafter.

With three rounds to go, Ian Nepomniachtchi is a sole leader again on 7 points. He is followed by Gukesh and Nakamura on 6.5 points. It is important to note that Nakamura still has two white games and will meet Nepomniachtchi with Black in round 13 followed by Gukesh with White in the last round.

Pic Credit: Michal Walusza, Maria Emelianova (FIDE)

In the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, Tan Zhongyi won an important game against Kateryna Lagno. With Lagno low on time, Tan chose to play in a risky and aggressive manner, giving her opponent an amazing chance for a win.

27…f4! would have cleared the way for the black queen to land on g4 (after Bxe5) or h3, and Black’s assault on the white king could have cost White a point. Unfortunately, Lagno missed this possibility and soon found herself in a lost position.

Pic Credit: Michal Walusza, Maria Emelianova (FIDE)

Lei Tingjie, Tan’s compatriot, was also playing bold and aggressive chess today against Anna Muzychuk. Lei sacrificed a piece with 19. Bxh6 for a kingside attack and was on the verge of winning. The path to victory was a difficult one, and after the game, Lei said that she had not considered the right continuation.

She should have played 22. Kh2 – a tricky move. The point is that after a logical continuation like 22…f6, White can play on the other side of the board with 23. b3. After 23…axb3 24. axb3 Qxb3 25. Rxa8 Rxa8, White can play 26. Nh4, and Black does not have the opportunity to defend with Rd7 resulting in White having a winning position.

Lei did not find this difficult path and instead, went for a messy position with 22. Nxe5, hoping for a perpetual check. The tables then turned, with Black having a winning position objectively, but now it was Anna Muzychuk who missed her chance; Lei found the perpetual check she had sought after, and the game ended in a draw. After the game, Lei said she was lucky to escape.

Pic Credit: Michal Walusza, Maria Emelianova (FIDE)

Vaishali R helped the Chinese duo by taking down pursuer Aleksandra Goryachkina in an intense battle of many mistakes. Vaishali surprised her opponent in the opening, gradually outplayed Goryachkina and could have sealed the deal on move 38.

38. Bd6 could have won the game for White, but Vaishali completely missed this move. As a result, her enormous advantage evaporated. However, she was still the only one playing for a win in this game, as White’s queen and knight were chasing the black king.

At some point, the position repeated three times, but not consecutively, so Goryachkina was checking her scoresheet. In the end, she decided not to claim the repetition, as she was not entirely sure. “She was probably thinking that I will repeat again,” explained Vaishali after the game. But the young Indian player demonstrated a fighting mentality in this game, as she chose to continue playing with the hopes of finding more chances. She was duly rewarded in the queen and pawn endgame, where her experienced opponent finally blundered and had to resign.

In the last game of the women’s event, Humpy Koneru defeated Nurgyul Salimova in a solid and straightforward game to come back to a 50% result.

The results of Round 11 were extremely important for the tournament standings. Tan Zhongyi is now the sole leader on 7.5 points, closely trailed by Lei Tingjie on 7. Goryachkina, Koneru, and Lagno are the three players two points behind the leader – a gap that is almost impossible to close in three rounds. It is now clear that the race for first in the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament will be between two Chinese players, Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie.

“If one of us can become first and the crown will stay in China, for me it is a good thing for Chinese chess,” said Lei Tingjie. “Tan is leading, so now I have no pressure at all.”

The 12th round of the event will commence on the 18th of April at 14:30 EDT (Toronto).

Standings after Round 11:

Open:

1. Nepomniachtchi – 7
2-3. Gukesh, Nakamura – 6.5
4. Caruana – 4
5. Praggnanandhaa – 5.5
6. Vidit – 5
7. Firouzja – 3.5
8. Abasov – 3

Women’s:

1. Tan – 7.5
2. Lei – 7
3-5. Goryachkina, Koneru, Lagno – 5.5
6-7. Vaishali, A. Muzychuk – 4.5
8. Salimova – 4

Round 12 pairings:

Open:

Nakamura – Firouzja
Abasov – Gukesh
Caruana – Vidit
Nepomniachtchi – Praggnanandhaa

Women’s:

Lagno – Lei
A. Muzychuk – Vaishali
Goryachkina – Koneru
Salimova – Tan

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