Nepomniachtchi mercilessly attacked his main competitor. But everything was a failure!
Dmitry Kryakvin April 16, 2024, 21:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
In the tenth round, Yang tied with India’s Dommaraju. These two grandmasters continue to share first and second place in the tournament race.
In the tenth round of the candidates tournament in Toronto, Canada, the American grandmasters Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura said their important words at the same time before the start, they were considered the main favorites along with the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, but they were the ones who led the competition. unevenly.
Nakamura defeated tournament outsider Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan), and real passions erupted around Caruana’s game against Alireza Firouzja (France). After yesterday’s scandal with the shoes of a Frenchman of Iranian origin, the tension was added by the fact that Firouzja’s father was not allowed to be present during the match in the game room.
The scandal surrounding Firouzja’s shoes was serious:
“Shameful action by the referee.” A judicial scandal broke out around Ian Nepomniachtchi’s party
According to the tournament director, grandmaster Pavel Tregubov, Hamidorez Firouzja even threatened to call the police and addressed the audience: he said he didn’t even know how to play, but he just wanted to support his son. I mean, such draconian measures against possible complaints?
One way or another, Alireza Firouzja suffered another defeat and now, after the day off, he will compete with Abasov not to take the last place in this tournament. Caruana and Nakamura, on the other hand, are only half a point behind the leaders: they share third and fifth place with Pragnanandha (India).
In the duel between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Gukesh Dommaraju, who were in the first two places, at the exit of the opening, the Russian grandmaster tried to launch an attack against the opponent’s king. At one point, the computer pointed out a dizzying opportunity that could actually help create dangerous threats for Black, but Ian missed it and the young Indian confidently arrived at no man’s port with a series of clever exchanges.
Men’s Candidates Tournament – 2024. 10th round
Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) – Gukesh Dommaraju (India)
The next matches of the tournament will take place on Wednesday, April 17. They will face each other: Vidit (5 points) – Nepomniachtchi (6), Dommaraju (6) – Caruana (5.5) and Pragnanandha (5.5) – Nakamura (5.5). The incredible density of the race, in which every half point can be decisive, remains the same.
In the women’s contest, unfortunately, in the reporting round the balance of the Russian-Chinese confrontation tilted in favor of our eastern neighbors. In intense battles, the games of Ekaterina Lagno (Russia) with Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) and Tan Zhongyi (China) with Humpy Koneru (India) logically ended in draws, and in the early duel of the Russian Alexandra Goryachkina against the Chinese Lei Tingjie. , our athlete made a mistake when there were only a few moves left before a tie agreement.
Women’s Candidates Tournament – 2024. 10th round
Alexandra Goryachkina (Russia) — Lei Tingjie (China)
As a result, the Chinese pair took the lead: Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie scored 6.5 points each. Goryachkina and Lahno are one point behind; that difference cannot be made up in four rounds without strong remedies.
In the eleventh round, Zhongyi will face Lagno, Tingze against Muzychuk and Goryachkina against outsider Rameshbabu Vaishali. Our girls need a win!
