The spectacular second round of the Candidates Tournament 2024 brought thrilling games and lots of excitement. The players delivered decisive outcomes, and as many as six (out of eight) games finished with a decisive score! With four victories in the Men’s tournament, we now have a four-way tie for the top between Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Gukesh and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi.
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi was the first player yesterday to deliver a victory. His brilliant aggressive play paid off against Hikaru Nakamura. The showcase started with the outstanding opening preparation, and 8…c6 novelty, continuing with the amazing Bishop sacrifice 11…Bxh3!
A heartbreaking moment for Hikaru came soon after when he realized that his chances in the game were at the minimum.
Despite his hopeless position, Hikaru Nakamura tried to defend, but made a mistake and the game finished after only 29 moves of play.
Hikaru Nakamura vs Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 0-1
In the second Indian derby of the Candidates, Gukesh D prevailed against Praggnanandhaa R. Praggnanandhaa came out with impressive preparation and sacrificed three pawns in the early part of the game. However, Gukesh defended precisely, and eventually took the initiative which happened to be fatal for Pragg.
Praggnanandhaa’s main mistake was 25.Qg4? and Gukesh used it to go with perfect execution, finishing the game in the next eight moves.
Praggnanandhaa vs Gukesh 0-1
Fabiano Caruana proved the favourite role against Nijat Abasov who again had a solid game, but then turned the self-destruction button on. “The game was quite tough; there was a lot of calculation”, said Fabiano in the post-game interview.
The game was quite balanced until the very end when Abasov went for 34…Bb3?? which cost him a point. Caruana didn’t miss his chance and scored a victory in the next four moves.
The last game to finish was the wild encounter between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Alireza Firouzja. Nepo marched with his King all the way to the d3 central square, and found impressive defense from Firouzja’s attack.
Nepo confessed that he was out of concrete preparation after 18…Qe8, and decided to play 19.h4 which was the recommended move in the other lines he remembered. Wild complications ensued, but Ian was always confident that he was the only one pressing for a win.
The third round starts today at 12:30 EST and pairings can be found here. Standings after two played rounds are shown below:
| Rk. | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | |
| 1 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2743 | 1.5 |
| GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2727 | 1.5 | |
| GM | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2803 | 1.5 | |
| GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FID | 2758 | 1.5 | |
| 5 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | AZE | 2632 | 0.5 |
| GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2789 | 0.5 | |
| GM | Firouzja, Alireza | FRA | 2760 | 0.5 | |
| GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2747 | 0.5 |
Photos by FIDE/ Michal Walusza & Maria Emelianova
