The second half of the Candidates Tournament 2024 commenced yesterday with the eighth round. Sharp battles finished with four decisive results, with two decisive games in the Men’s event, and two victories in the Women’s tournament.
17-year-old Gukesh D again joined Ian Nepomniachtchi on the top of the Open event, after defeating his compatriot Vidit Santosh Gujrathi. Gukesh was well prepared to play the Italian as Black, while Vidit spent lots of time for the opening moves. Gaining the initative, Gukesh put his forces on the a-line and easily penetrated through the White’s defense.
Vidit tried to find a counterplay, but 29.c5? happened to be a crucial mistake which Gukesh used to create a beautiful mating net around White’s King.
Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana opened with a Ruy Lopez and it seemed that Fabiano equalized quite quickly with the black pieces. Caruana was eager to trade some pieces, but Nakamura used that to set-up interesting trap.
Caruana completely missed mating threats after the rooks trade over the e-file, fall for it, and eventually lost. “I had this feeling that Fabiano was under some pressure because maybe Nepo was going to win his game and be on +3. It feels like it’s starting to get away,” said Nakamura in the post-game interview.
The game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Nijat Abasov finished in a draw, but Nepo gave everything to win the full point. Playing with white pieces, Nepo was draining a drawn endgame trying to get a win.
Even getting a pawn didn’t change the equal evaluation, and Nijat Abasov defended well. Eventually, the players shook their hands, confirming a peaceful result.
Praggnanandhaa and Alireza Firouzja played the calmest game of the round, despite a sharp opening choice – Sicilian defense. Firouzja equalized quickly and Pragg had no choice but to accept trades of pieces entering a very simple endgame.
Finally going into the knights endgame with 3 vs 3 pawns on the same side, the players signed a draw.
Standings after eight played rounds:
| Rk. | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2743 | 5 |
| 2 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FID | 2758 | 5 |
| 3 | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2789 | 4,5 |
| 4 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2747 | 4,5 |
| 5 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2803 | 4 |
| 6 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2727 | 3,5 |
| 7 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | FRA | 2760 | 3 |
| 8 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | AZE | 2632 | 2,5 |
Photos by FIDE/ Maria Emelianova and Michal Walusza
