Chess: Indians shine at Candidates, but Russia’s Nepomniachtchi leads again

India’s trio at the €500,000 2024 Candidates in Toronto, which decides the challenger for Ding Liren’s world crown, were expected to finish in the bottom half of the eight-man event. Instead, they lit up the tournament with their imaginative attacking play. All three have won games with the unfavourable black pieces.

However, it was Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, playing under a neutral Fide flag, who shared the lead. Nepomniachtchi, 33, won the last two Candidates but lost the subsequent world championship matches of 2021 to Magnus Carlsen and 2023 to Ding Liren. Now he is a frontrunner, who was joint leader with 17-year-old Gukesh D  (India) on 4/6, ahead of the favourite Fabiano Caruana (US) and Praggnanandhaa R (India) on 3.5. China’s Tan Zhongyi led the Women’s Candidates on 4.5/6, half a point ahead of Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia).

The most remarkable game so far has been Hikaru Nakamura vs Vidit Gujrathi. The US’s world No 3 and popular streamer entered it on an unbeaten run of 47 games, but departed crushed by a sudden and unexpected early counter-attack, the result of deep engine-aided preparation.

The Berlin has a reputation as one of the most solid black defences, but Vidit produced a subtle novelty at move six before unleashing his bomb at move 13. Anyone who plays the white side of the Ruy Lopez 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 would be totally shocked to see Black sacrificing his c8 bishop for the h3 pawn 10 moves later.

Nakamura wrongly declined the bishop, fearing 14 gxh3 Qb8 with a potential Qg3+, but his king was exposed for the rest of the game, during which Vidit chased the white king to the other side of the board, finishing at move 29 with an elegant knight check.

For most chess fans following the Candidates, the important question is where to watch the games. There are three main possibilities: the official Fide website, where the former world champion Vishy Anand and the US No 1 woman Irina Krush are the main commentators; chess24, whose team includes the all-time No 1 Judit Polgár, Peter Leko and England’s best-known commentator David Howell; and Lichess, where England’s Matthew Sadler leads the team.

After sampling all of them, my recommendation is to view the live play on Lichess, where all four games can be watched on a single screen. You can click in and out of individual games for a closer look, and view the complete game score so far, plus the latest computer assessment and predicted future moves. A separate page has the same full information about the Women’s Candidates.

Then, using a different browser, go to chess24, which has the best commentary team and event presentation. Sadler on Lichess is also insightful and knowledgeable. The Fide site is good, but some say it spends too much time on background material.

Watching top grandmasters in action and listening to high-class commentary is an excellent and painless way to improve your own game, quite apart from the interest of following what promises to be a lively and competitive tournament.

For chess novices, the changing computer evaluation number is a simple way to know which player is winning. A number above 1 (= one pawn) means a significant edge, above 2 is a likely winning advantage, while below 1 is an equal position.

Puzzle 2567

Matthias Bluebaum vs Robert Baskin, Titled Tuesday 2020. Material is level. How did White (to move) win?

Click here for solution