Heading into the first free day of the Candidates Tournament 2024, Ian Nepomniachtchi emerged as the sole leader of the event!
Ian Nepomniachtchi looks for his third consecutive win in the Candidates, which would give him a second chance against Ding Liren in the World Championship match. Defeating Vidit Santosh Gujrathi in the fourth round, Ian collected 3/4 points, to be half a point ahead of Gukesh D and Fabiano Caruana who tie for second with 2.5 points each.
Nepo decided to go into the Berlin endgame which seemed very drawish, but Black needs to be very precise to hold it. The first surprise came with 12.Nh2!? which left Vidit shocked and he spent 35 minutes for the next move. The position remained equal until the very end, when the Indian went for inaccurate 23…Rb3?! which happened to be decisive.
Ian Nepomniachtchi – Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 1-0
The other three games in the Men’s section were finished in a draw. The games were quite balanced without turnovers, but one interesting situation appeared in the game between Hikaru Nakamura and Praggnanandhaa.
Playing black, Praggnanandhaa quickly equalized and even had a slightly nicer position. The players repeated the moves, and Nakamura decided to claim the threefold repetition, somewhat reluctantly calling the arbiter.
After four played rounds, the players enjoyed the free day yesterday, and come back to the office today at 14:30 EST.
Standings after three played rounds:
| Rk. | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | |
| 1 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FID | 2758 | 3 |
| 2 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2743 | 2.5 |
| GM | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2803 | 2.5 | |
| 4 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2747 | 2 |
| 5 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | AZE | 2632 | 1.5 |
| GM | Firouzja, Alireza | FRA | 2760 | 1.5 | |
| GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2789 | 1.5 | |
| GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2727 | 1.5 |
Photos by FIDE / Michal Walusza
