Alireza Firouzja is emerging as the biggest fiasco in elite chess in the first quarter of the 21st century if he does not make a sudden change in the focus of his career. Once identified, in his adolescence, as the most likely successor to Magnus Carlsen, the Frenchman of Iranian origin shares at the age of 20 the last place in the Candidates Tournament in Toronto (Canada) after six rounds of the fourteen planned. The Russian Ian Niepómniashi and the Indian Dommaraju Gukesh, 17, lead with half a point more than the American Fabiano Caruana and another Indian, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 18.
Carlsen announced in 2021, after defending his title against Niepómniashi in Dubai, that he was giving up the World Championship unless Firouzja won the Madrid Candidates Tournament in 2022. The Norwegian saw him as the only one of the candidates who could match him. , and which would therefore justify the enormous effort of spending several months preparing for a single adversary; only Firouzja motivated Carlsen to remain the champion.
The Scandinavian had serious reasons to rate Firouzja so highly, whose career as a teenager had been as brilliant as Carlsen’s. But the blinding brilliance of that Iranian marvel has become a weak light bulb that barely blinks, and that also emits a squeaky sound. Like his horrible thirteenth attempt today, unthinkable in any elite player. His rival, the third Indian of the Candidates, Gujrathi Vidit, has reacted with vigor and precision to sign an impeccable victory.
Meanwhile, the two main favorites of the tournament, Niepómniashi and Caruana, signed a draw of great technical quality and no brilliance. And Gukesh also shared the point after being a little worse in the opening against the American Hikaru Nakamura. It was the day that Praggnanandhaa had to take advantage of because he was facing with the white pieces the weaker participant – with Firouzja’s permission – the Azerbaijani Nijat Abásov. Like his compatriot Vidit, the young Indian put together a correct task of superiority from start to finish.
All four games of the Candidates Tournament ended in victory. The most significant of them was that of Zhongyi Tan about Anna Muzychuk, very brilliant, which reaffirms the Chinese as the clear favorite (along with the Russian Alexandra Goryáchkina) and corroborates that the Ukraine is very far from her best form.
Results (6th round).-
Candidates: Niepómniashi – Caruana, tables; Gukesh–Nakamura, tables; Praggnanandhaa – Abbasov, 1-0; Vidit – Firouzja, 1-0.
Candidates: Tan – A. Muzychuk, 1-0; Salímova – Goryachkina, 0-1; Koneru – Lei, 0-1; Vaishali – Lagno, 0-1;
Classifications.-
Candidates: 1st-2nd Niepómniashi and Gukesh 4; 3rd-4th Caruana and Praggnanandhaa 3.5; 5th-6th Vidit and Nakamura, 3; 6th 7th-8th Firouzja and Abásov, 1.5.
Candidates: 1st Tan, 4.5 points; 2nd Goryachkina, 4; 3rd Lagno, 3.5; 4th Law, 3; 5th-6th Vaishali and Salímova 2.5; 7th-8th Koneru and Muzychuk 2.
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