Although after round 13 the bets on Nepomniachtchi dropped significantly. Yang and American Hikaru Nakamura tied. But 17-year-old Indian prodigy Dommaraju Gukesh beat Frenchman Alireza Firouzja to take the lead heading into the final round of the classics with 8.5 points to his name. Fabiano Caruana from the USA also played a productive game and joined the chasing group (three chess players added 8 points each).
The games of the perhaps decisive round were the following: Nakamura – Gukesh, Caruana – Nepomniachtchi.
“With the white pieces against Nakamura, I could count on more than a draw, especially after a successful opening,” Yang noted at the press conference. – In the last round I have black pieces against Caruana. I don’t think it will tune in any special way. I try to play with dignity in every game. It will be an interesting fight.
We remind you that in case of equality of points, a tiebreaker will be played on Tuesday.
As for the Russians, Alexandra Goryachkina and Ekaterina Lagno lost any chance of winning the candidates’ tournament. Before round 14, China’s Tan Zhongyi was leading with 8.5. His compatriot Lei Tingjie scored 7.5.
