The three Indians could have won, which would have shaken up the classification a lot after five rounds of the fourteen scheduled in the Candidates Tournament in Toronto (Canada). But the two main favorites, the American Fabiano Caruana and the Russian Ian Niepómniashi, were saved from the brink against Gujrathi Vidit and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, respectively. Dommaraju Gukesh did win, over the bottom player, the Azerbaijani Nijat Abásov, which places the 17-year-old youth in the lead, along with Niepómniashi.
Accepting a theoretical duel on the highly analyzed and stablished Petrov Defense against a double runner-up in the world trained in the classic Russian school did not seem like a highly recommended choice for Praggnanandhaa. But in that statement an essential element is missing: the current coach of the Indian prodigy is Péter Svídler, eight-time Russian champion, a deep connoisseur of Niepómniashi and a great analyst.
The speed with which the hauls of Pragg, even after Niepo deviated (in the 16th) from one of his games in 2023, leading to the suspicion that the Asian’s laboratory preparation was a very poisonous potion. Very soon (in the 23rd) the Russian made a tactical error and, according to the machines, he was lost.
It was the moment and the type of position in which chess players with a clear murderous instinct smell blood and only think about attacking the king with a slaughter. But, as in the case of the five-time champion of Viswanathan Anand (now a live commentator for the Candidates), whose only weak point has always been his aversion to jumping into the pool without knowing if there is water, everything indicates that education in the Hindu religion is hardly compatible with ferocious aggressiveness. Praggnanandhaa did not find a precise continuation that would lead him to victory – it is true that it was not easy to see, but there was one – and he chose to force the change of queens and move to a position with a slight positional advantage that guaranteed him at least half point, but very difficult to convert into victory against an opponent as technically tough as Niepómniashi. The tie was signed after 44 moves and four hours of fighting.
While all this was happening, the other two Indians also gave a lot of talk. Gukesh patiently tightened the screws on the theoretically weaker rival, Abbasov, until the Azerbaijani’s defenses cracked without a solution, after several ups and downs, after six hours of suffering; His defeat leaves the door open for the Asian youth to achieve a feat of historic precocity.
The other illustrious disciple of Guru Anand is the irregular but very dangerous Vidit, who put Caruana on the ropes from very early on and then pressed with great skill until severe time constraints arose, especially for the American. But then the most unexpected thing happened: Vidit, also a Hindu by religion, with about ten minutes for fifteen moves – less than five for his rival – got scared and forced a tie by repeating moves.
The Frenchman Alireza Firouzja, pointed out by many during his adolescence as the most likely successor to Magnus Carlsen on the chess throne, is no longer who he was. Today he lost to the American Hikaru Nakamura after suffering with the white pieces for six hours and when he had a drawn position but with great time constraints..
Once again, in the women’s tournament there were several winning positions that were not taken advantage of, and the four games of the day ended in a draw. Especially painful is what happens to the Ukrainian Anna Muzychuk, who would be the leader if she had converted all her great advantages into victory.
Results (5th round).-
Candidates: Praggnanandhaa – Niepómniashi, tables; Vidit – Caruana, tables; Gukesh – Abbasov, 1-0; Firouzja – Nakamura, draw.
Candidates: Tan – Salímova, tables; Koneru – Goryáchkina, tables; Lei – Lagno, tables; Vaishali – A. Muzychuk, tables.
Classifications.-
Candidates: 1st-2nd Niepómniashi and Gukesh 3.5 points; 3rd Caruana 3; 4th-5th Praggnanandhaa and Nakamura, 2.5; 6th Vidit, 2; 7th-8th Firouzja and Abásov, 1.5.
Candidates: 1st Tan, 3.5 points; 2nd Goryachkina 3; 3rd-5th Lagno, Vaishali and Salímova 2.5; 6th-8th Koneru, Muzychuk and Lei 2.
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