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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
  2. <rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
  3. <channel>
  4. <title>The Week in Chess</title>
  5. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/</link>
  6. <description>Chess News from throughout the World</description>
  7. <language>en</language>
  8. <copyright>The Week in Chess</copyright>
  9. <ttl>120</ttl><item>
  10. <title>Schachbundesliga 2023-24 - Games and Results</title>
  11. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/schachbundesliga-2023-24</link>
  12. <description><![CDATA[ The German Schachbundesliga took place over 15 rounds Sat 21st Oct to Sun 28th Apr 2024.
  13. SC Viernheim were the surprise champions winning all their matches and finishing 3 points clear of Baden-Baden.
  14. This is the first time Baden-Baden didn't win the league since the 2015/16 season, and only the second time they didn't win since their first title in 2005/06.]]></description>
  15. <pubDate>Mon Apr 29 15:33:00 2024</pubDate>
  16. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/schachbundesliga-2023-24</guid>
  17. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  18.  
  19. </item>
  20.  
  21. <item>
  22. <title>28th Tepe Sigeman &amp; Co Chess Tournament 2024 - Games and Results</title>
  23. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/28th-tepe-sigeman-co-chess-tournament-2024</link>
  24. <description><![CDATA[ The 28th Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament takes place in Malmo 27th April to 3rd May 2024.
  25. Players: Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi, Vincent Keymer, Peter Svidler,
  26. Nils Grandelius, Anton Korobov, Marc'Andria Maurizzi and Ju Wenjun.
  27.  
  28. ]]></description>
  29. <pubDate>Sat Apr 27 23:15:00 2024</pubDate>
  30. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/28th-tepe-sigeman-co-chess-tournament-2024</guid>
  31. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  32.  
  33. </item>
  34.  
  35. <item>
  36. <title>24th European Women's Championship 2024 - Games and Results</title>
  37. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/24th-european-womens-championship-2024</link>
  38. <description><![CDATA[ The 24th European Women's Championship takes place Thu 18th Apr to Tue 30th Apr 2024 in Rhodes, Greece. Top seeds: Yuliia Osmak, Marsel Efroimski, Bella Khotenashvili, Dinara Wagner, Antoaneta Stefanova, Lela Javakhishvili  etc]]></description>
  39. <pubDate>Wed Apr 24 22:42:00 2024</pubDate>
  40. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/24th-european-womens-championship-2024</guid>
  41. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  42.  
  43. </item>
  44.  
  45. <item>
  46. <title>Dutch League 2023-24 - Games and Results</title>
  47. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/dutch-league-2023-24</link>
  48. <description><![CDATA[ The Dutch League took place 16th September 2023 to 20th April 2024. Kennemer Combinatie had already won the league before this weekend's final round.]]></description>
  49. <pubDate>Wed Apr 24 22:37:00 2024</pubDate>
  50. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/dutch-league-2023-24</guid>
  51. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  52.  
  53. </item>
  54.  
  55. <item>
  56. <title>14th Asrian Memorial 2024 - Games and Results</title>
  57. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/14th-asrian-memorial-2024</link>
  58. <description><![CDATA[ The 14th Karen Asrian Memorial takes place in Yerevan Wed 24th Apr to Thu 2nd May 2024. The event returns after missing last year. Top seeds Manuel Petrosyan, Zaven Andriasian, M Pranesh etc.]]></description>
  59. <pubDate>Wed Apr 24 22:28:00 2024</pubDate>
  60. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/14th-asrian-memorial-2024</guid>
  61. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  62.  
  63. </item>
  64.  
  65. <item>
  66. <title>Tan Zhongyi is the clear winner of the Women's Candidates 2024 - 14</title>
  67. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-zhongyi-is-the-clear-winner-of-the-womens-candidates-2024</link>
  68. <description><![CDATA[ Tan Zhongyi will challenge Ju Wenjun for the World Chess Championship in 2025. The 32 year old player was not the favourite for the event but her confident play dominated with only a round 8 loss to her closest challenger Lei Tingjie as a blemish in the event. In the final round Tan played a very sharp Sicilian against Anna Muzychuk. Tan secured a big advantage but steered the game to the draw she needed. Lei needed a win and played an amazing Queen sacrifice against Humpy Koneru. Eventually her compensation disappeared and she subsided to a loss. ]]></description>
  69. <pubDate>Mon Apr 22 01:56:00 2024</pubDate>
  70. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-zhongyi-is-the-clear-winner-of-the-womens-candidates-2024</guid>
  71. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  72.  
  73. </item>
  74.  
  75. <item>
  76. <title>Gukesh is the youngest ever winner of the Candidates at 17 years old - 14</title>
  77. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/gukesh-is-the-youngest-ever-winner-of-the-candidates-at-17-years-old</link>
  78. <description><![CDATA[ Dommaraju Gukesh won the FIDE Candidates at the age of 17 years old. He comfortably held a draw against Hikaru Nakamura in the final round of the event. Fabiano Caruana built up a winning position against double defending champion Ian Nepomaniachtchi but a blunder on the first move after first time control allowed a draw and Gukesh's victory. Gukesh should play Ding Liren later in the year for the World Title. Ding seems to have had some kind of personal crisis since taking the title and has hardly played, and when he has it's not been very good play.]]></description>
  79. <pubDate>Mon Apr 22 01:43:00 2024</pubDate>
  80. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/gukesh-is-the-youngest-ever-winner-of-the-candidates-at-17-years-old</guid>
  81. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  82.  
  83. </item>
  84.  
  85. <item>
  86. <title>Tan Zhongyi on the verge of winning the Women's Candidates tournament - 13</title>
  87. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-zhongyi-on-the-verge-of-winning-the-womens-candidates-tournament</link>
  88. <description><![CDATA[ Tan Zhongyi could not ask for a better chance to win the Women's Candidates
  89. in Toronto going into the final round. Tan hardly played the most
  90. critical continuation against Aleksandra Goryachkina but a quiet game
  91. suited her and a draw by repetition was agreed on move 29. She now
  92. leads the Lei Tingjie by a point with no-one else able to catch her.
  93. Tan faces Anna Muzychuk with the black pieces in the final round, Muzychuk
  94. hasn't won a game yet, although she generated enough chances to have been
  95. in contention.
  96. </p>
  97. <p>
  98. The key result of the day was Rameshbabu Vaishali's fourth win in a row,
  99. a streak that followed four losses in a row and which started with
  100. a game she probably should have lost also. Today she took down
  101. Lei Tingjie and practically ruined her chances of winning the event.
  102. This was a 3.Bb5+ Sicilian 12...Bf8? (12...Be7=) was too passive
  103. and white was better for some time, some inaccuracies from Vaishali
  104. meant that black was back in it by move 25 and after first
  105. time control black had equality. The game was decided by a single move
  106. blunder, 61...Kf7? (61...h6 was equal) when 62.g5! meant
  107. all king an pawn endgames were winning for white, and there really was no escaping that.
  108. </p>
  109. <p>
  110.  
  111. Nurgyul Salimova had a lucky escape against
  112. Kateryna Lagno who was busy converting a huge advantage
  113. before the inaccurate 42...Rc8? (42...Qd7!) undid all her
  114. good work and a draw was soon agreed. Two of the pre-event
  115. favourites Humpy Koneru and Anna Muzychuk played out a 45
  116. move draw but I think both will just want this to be over.
  117. </p>
  118. <p>
  119.  
  120. Round 13 Standings:
  121. 1 Tan Zhongyi 8.5pts,
  122. 2 Lei Tingjie 7.5pts,
  123. 3 Koneru, Lagno, Goryachkina, Vaishali 6.5pts
  124. 7 Salimova, Muzychuk 5pts.
  125. </p>
  126. <p>
  127.  
  128. Round 14 21st April at 19:30BST:
  129. Lagno-Vaishali,
  130. Lei-Koneru,
  131. Muzychuk-Tan,
  132. Goryachkina-Salimova.
  133. </p>
  134.  
  135. ]]></description>
  136. <pubDate>Sun Apr 21 13:35:00 2024</pubDate>
  137. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-zhongyi-on-the-verge-of-winning-the-womens-candidates-tournament</guid>
  138. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  139.  
  140. </item>
  141.  
  142. <item>
  143. <title>17 year-old Gukesh leads the Candidates alone with one round to go - 13</title>
  144. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/17-year-old-gukesh-leads-the-candidates-alone-with-one-round-to-go</link>
  145. <description><![CDATA[ Dommaraju Gukesh is on the verge of victory in the FIDE Candidates tournament
  146. in Toronto. A win in the final round with the black pieces against Hikaru Nakamura would guarantee
  147. first place. Half a point behind is his opponent Nakamura as well as Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi
  148. who face each other. Gukesh could well win the event with a draw, the other players need a win.
  149. There could also be a two way tie, this will be resolved by rapid followed by blitz, if necessary.
  150. </p>
  151. <p>
  152. Gukesh beat 20-year-old Alireza Firouzja whose entire campaign has been undone by his highly
  153. emotional approach to chess. Unless Firouzja learns to calm down I don't see how he can move forward.
  154. This was a double edged Berlin Defence where Firouzja was at least equal, 32...g5 was a misguided attempt
  155. to play for a win I guess but it rebounded and left Firouzja on the defensive. 43...Kh8?! (43.Qg6+!=)
  156. was a step in the wrong direction 44...Rg8? (44...Qg6 again) 45.Qg5?! (45.Qh6!) 45...Qg6? ( 45...Ne6! last chance
  157. to fight really) after which white didn't make any mistake in converting. Gukesh probably will play
  158. solidly against Nakamura and see where that takes him.
  159. </p>
  160. <p>
  161.  
  162. Hikaru Nakamura surprised Ian Nepomniachtchi with 4...Bc5 in the Ruy Lopez and was clearly well
  163. prepared. It does seem like he mixed up that preparation as 14...d5?! (14...d6 is fine) gave white
  164. chances if he'd found 17.d5! As it was 17.Bc2 roughly equal and they drew by repetition on move
  165. 27. Nepomniachtchi was really the one who could play on and given the size of his task in the final
  166. round perhaps he should have.
  167. </p>
  168. <p>
  169.  
  170. Fabiano Caruana continued to be in must-win territory in this round and he delivered beating Praggnanandhaa
  171. with the black pieces in a gruelling grind. In such a long game it's hard to pick things out but
  172. 15.Qh3?! (15.Rb1!) handed Caruana a nice initiative and he was quite soon hugely better. 25...Nxe1
  173. grabbing the exchange was entirely natural but it left Caruana with a difficult task of breaking through
  174. but perhaps he thought he was fine with that. 40.f3 was forced opening the position a bit
  175. but the position was still about equal there. Once Queen's came off Caruana could slowly
  176. activate his Queenside pawn majority and although the engines quibble about his choices
  177. 67.c3? was the start of collapse from Praggnanandhaa and after 69.Ba1? the game was soon over.
  178. </p>
  179. <p>
  180.  
  181. Santosh Vidit tried a little bit against Nijat Abasov's Petroff but after great preparation
  182. and equality both players had no real motivation to continue and drew.
  183. </p>
  184. <p>
  185.  
  186. Round 13 Standings:
  187. 1st Gukesh 8.5pts,
  188. 2nd= Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura, Caruana 8pts,
  189. 5th Praggnanandhaa 6pts,
  190. 6th Vidit 5.5pts,
  191. 7th Firouzja 4.5pts,
  192. 8th Abasov 3.5pts,
  193. </p>
  194. <p>
  195.  
  196. Round 14 21st April at 19:30BST:
  197. Nakamura-Gukesh,
  198. Firouzja-Vidit,
  199. Abasov-Praggnanandhaa,
  200. Caruana-Nepomniachtchi.
  201.  
  202. </p>
  203.  
  204. ]]></description>
  205. <pubDate>Sun Apr 21 13:01:00 2024</pubDate>
  206. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/17-year-old-gukesh-leads-the-candidates-alone-with-one-round-to-go</guid>
  207. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  208.  
  209. </item>
  210.  
  211. <item>
  212. <title>Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie both draw in Round 12 of the Women's Candidates - 12</title>
  213. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-zhongyi-and-lei-tingjie-both-draw-in-round-12-of-the-womens-candidates</link>
  214. <description><![CDATA[ Tan Zhongyi continues to lead Lei Tingjie by half a point going into
  215. the final rest day of the Women's Candidates tournament in Toronto.
  216. They are too far clear of the rest of the field, one of these two
  217. players will win the event.
  218. </p><p>
  219. Tan Zhongyi was losing against Nurgyul Salimova. By move
  220. 25 Tan was in a very uncomfortable position and tried
  221. to break out tactically with 25...b6? but this made things
  222. worse. Salimova's 43.f6?! (43.g6!) was a step in the wrong direction
  223. but she restored her winning position only to play 50.Bxf7?
  224. (50.Nxb4, 50.Rh4+ or 50.Bc6) which basically threw away
  225. the entire advantage and the game was drawn.
  226. </p><p>
  227.  
  228. Whilst Tan was losing Lei Tingjie seemed poised
  229. to overtake her with a win against Kateryna Lagno.
  230. Lei defended the French Defence Advanced variation
  231. and after 13.Bg3? was better and seemingly within
  232. sight of the winning line played 26.Nf3? (26.Qb6! was the only
  233. winner) when the position became equal again and drawn
  234. on move 40.
  235. </p><p>
  236.  
  237.  
  238. Aleksandra Goryachkina got nothing in the Catalan against Humpy
  239. Koneru, pieces came off and a draw was agreed on move 25.
  240. The only decisive game was a resurgent
  241. Rameshbabu Vaishali who beat Anna Muzychuk.
  242. Things started to go wrong for Muzychuk after 24.e6
  243. and by move 40 Vaishali had traded into a completely
  244. winning endgame which she converted.
  245. </p><p>
  246.  
  247. Round 12 Standings:
  248. 1st Tan Zhongyi 8pts,
  249. 2nd Lei Tingjie 7.5pts,
  250. 3rd= Lagno, Koneru, Goryachkina 6pts,
  251. 6th Vaishali 5.5pts,
  252. 7th= Salimova, Muzychuk 4.5pts.
  253. </p><p>
  254.  
  255. Rest Day 19th April 2024
  256. </p><p>
  257.  
  258. Round 13 20th April at 19:30BST:
  259. Salimova-Lagno,
  260. Tan-Goryachkina,
  261. Koneru-Muzychuk,
  262. Vaishali-Lei.
  263. </p><p>
  264.  
  265. Round 14 21st April at 19:30BST:
  266. Lagno-Vaishali,
  267. Lei-Koneru,
  268. Muzychuk-Tan,
  269. Goryachkina-Salimova.
  270. </p>
  271.  
  272. ]]></description>
  273. <pubDate>Fri Apr 19 19:59:00 2024</pubDate>
  274. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-zhongyi-and-lei-tingjie-both-draw-in-round-12-of-the-womens-candidates</guid>
  275. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  276.  
  277. </item>
  278.  
  279. <item>
  280. <title>Gukesh, Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi lead the Candidates going into the final two rounds - 12</title>
  281. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/gukesh-nakamura-and-nepomniachtchi-lead-the-candidates-going-into-the-final-two-rounds</link>
  282. <description><![CDATA[ The FIDE Candidates in Toronto, Canada has reached the final rest day. With two
  283. rounds to go three players, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Gukesh and Hikaru Nakamura lead
  284. with 7.5/12 half a point clear of Fabiano Caruana, one of these players will
  285. win the event. There will be day of tie-breaks on Monday if required, although
  286. I'd rather there be a clear winner. Intriguingly pairings include Nepomniachtchi-Nakamura
  287. in round 13 and Nakamura-Gukesh and Caruana-Nepomniachtchi in the final round.
  288. </p><p>
  289. Nepomniachtchi chose the Exchange French against Praggnanandhaa and after
  290. 9 moves black was already level. Praggnanandhaa might have been a tiny bit
  291. better (33...c6!?) but the game fizzled out to a draw. A wasted white for
  292. Nepomniachtchi that he may come to regret.
  293. </p><p>
  294.  
  295. Nakamura also chose the Exchange French Defence as white against Alireza Firouzja
  296. but with 7.Qa4+ the game became very offbeat and sharp. Nakamura then offered a
  297. pawn and major complications arose. 17.a3 d4!? (17...Nxf2 was the computer choice).
  298. Black got level play until 21...Nxe1? (21...Qd7=) then Nakamura took over
  299. until 34.Be1?!= let Firouzja back in the game. Firouzja made time control but his
  300. first move after 41.g5? (41.Ra3!) was the decisive mistake.
  301. </p><p>
  302.  
  303. Gukesh as black managed to put Nijat Abasov under pressure right from the opening
  304. when he seemed to predict his opponent's replies to his unusual Nimzo Indian.
  305. Gukesh won Abasov's a-pawn but was a very long way from converting it, 37.c4?! (37.Ra2!)
  306. was the start concessions leading to a won position by move 41 for Gukesh which he then
  307. converted.
  308. </p><p>
  309.  
  310. Fabiano Caruana knew he almost certainly had to beat Santosh Vidit today to
  311. stay in contention. In a Giuoco Piano Caruana got a little something to play
  312. with after 23.Qc5, not much according to the engines but enough to put
  313. pressure on Vidit. Caruana won a pawn on move 35 but 37.Rh5? (35.b4)
  314. misplaced the rook and allowed Vidit saving chances but 40...Rb8? (40...Qf4)
  315. was a losing error. 43.Bf5?! (43.b5!) wasn't the most accurate but Caruana
  316. soon won anyway.
  317. </p><p>
  318.  
  319. Round 12 Standings:
  320. 1st= Gukesh, Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi 7.5pts,
  321. 4th Caruana 7pts,
  322. 5th Praggnanandhaa 6pts,
  323. 6th Vidit 5pts,
  324. 7th Firouzja 4.5pts,
  325. 8th Abasov 3pts.
  326. </p><p>
  327.  
  328. Rest day 19th April 2024.
  329. </p><p>
  330.  
  331. Round 13 20th April at 19:30BST:
  332. Nepomniachtchi-Nakamura,
  333. Praggnanandhaa-Caruana,
  334. Vidit-Abasov,
  335. Gukesh-Firouzja.
  336. </p><p>
  337.  
  338. Round 14 21st April at 19:30BST:
  339. Nakamura-Gukesh,
  340. Firouzja-Vidit,
  341. Abasov-Praggnanandhaa,
  342. Caruana-Nepomniachtchi.
  343. </p>
  344. ]]></description>
  345. <pubDate>Fri Apr 19 13:31:00 2024</pubDate>
  346. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/gukesh-nakamura-and-nepomniachtchi-lead-the-candidates-going-into-the-final-two-rounds</guid>
  347. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  348.  
  349. </item>
  350.  
  351. <item>
  352. <title>Tan leads Lei half a point after 11 rounds in a two horse race for the Women's Candidates - 11</title>
  353. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-leads-lei-half-a-point-after-11-rounds-in-a-two-horse-race-for-the-womens-candidates</link>
  354. <description><![CDATA[ Tan Zhongyi took sole lead of the FIDE Women's Candidates with 7.5/11 after beating
  355. Kateryna Lagno in a Reti. Lei Tingjie managed to draw against Anna Muzychuk and
  356. is half a point behind. With three rounds to go Kateryna Lagno, Humpy Koneru
  357. and Aleksandra Goryachkina are all on 5.5 points, realistically it's between
  358. Tan and Lei for the title.
  359. </p><p>
  360. Tan played a Reti System, 13...e5 from Lagno could have been met by 14.Nxe5 with
  361. advantage but instead a roughly balance position was arrived at. 27.Rc5? could
  362. have been refuted by 27...f4 when overloaded pieces combined with a kingside attack
  363. win for black. Lagno played the losing 28...Bxb3 (28...f4 is the way to hold the balance
  364. now) and Tan made no mistake in converting.
  365. </p><p>
  366.  
  367. There were similar goings on in the game Lei Tingjie against Anna Muzychuk. After
  368. a Giuoco Piano opening Muzychuk was at least equal until she failed to find the
  369. correct defence to 19.Bxh6 gxh6? (19...Nh7!) but then Lei played 22.Nxe5? (22.Kh2!)
  370. and black was better and then 30.c4? winning. After 34.Nf5 it came down to
  371. whether black could avoid perpetual check, it was possible but the way to
  372. do it wasn't 42....Bf7? but 42...Ke8 instead. So a draw in the end.
  373. Humpy Koneru built up a winning position after 30 moves against Nurgyul
  374. Salimova as white in a Slav Defence, she made rather heavy weather of conversion
  375. but got there in the end. Rameshbabu Vaishali won again and
  376. Aleksandra Goryachkina lost again. It ended up in a equal but tricky Queen and Pawn endgame
  377. but 64....d4? lost and Vaishali made no mistake.
  378. </p><p>
  379.  
  380. Round 11 Standings:
  381. 1st Tan 7.5
  382. 2nd Lei 7
  383. 3rd= Lagno, Koneru, Goryachkina 5.5pts,
  384. 6th= Muzychuk, Vaishali 4.5pts
  385. 8th Salimova 4pts
  386. </p><p>
  387.  
  388.  
  389. Round 12 18th April at 19:30BST:
  390. Lagno-Lei,
  391. Muzychuk-Vaishali,
  392. Goryachkina-Koneru,
  393. Salimova-Tan.
  394. </p>]]></description>
  395. <pubDate>Thu Apr 18 18:54:00 2024</pubDate>
  396. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-leads-lei-half-a-point-after-11-rounds-in-a-two-horse-race-for-the-womens-candidates</guid>
  397. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  398.  
  399. </item>
  400.  
  401. <item>
  402. <title>Nepomniachtchi beats Vidit in a tense struggle to lead the Candidates alone again on 7/11 - 11</title>
  403. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/nepomniachtchi-beats-vidit-in-a-tense-struggle-to-lead-the-candidates-alone-again-on-711</link>
  404. <description><![CDATA[ Ian Nepomniachtchi won a really fascinating struggle
  405. against Santosh Vidit in the eleventh round of the FIDE Candidates
  406. tournament in Toronto, Canada. Not only did Nepomniachtchi win, he won with
  407. the black pieces, but it was Vidit who first had winning chances.
  408. Vidit chose a side-line in a fairly topical Petroff line, even with
  409. Queen's off the play remained complicated and 33...Rb3? (33...Kg7!)
  410. was losing according to engines after 34.h5! Then 35...a5? 36.Bxa3
  411. d5 was also deemed losing for black but only after giving up a piece.
  412. The position was back level and 58.Bb3?! and 60.Nb2+? suddenly
  413. Nepomniachtchi was winning and his conversion was a lot easier.
  414. Earlier Hikaru Nakamura was extremely impressive in beating
  415. Praggnanandhaa with black in a game starting 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c5!
  416. Gukesh was the one slightly pushing in his draw against Fabiano Caruana.
  417. All this leaves Nepomniachtchi leading on 7/11, Gukesh and Nakamura on 6.5/11
  418. and Caruana in an almost must win situation on 6/11 with three rounds to go.
  419. </p>
  420. <p>
  421. Round 11 Standings:
  422. 1st Nepomniachtchi 7pts,
  423. 2nd= Gukesh, Nakamura 6.5pts,
  424. 4th Caruana 6pts,
  425. 5th Praggnanandhaa 5.5pts,
  426. 6th Vidit 5pts,
  427. 7th Firouzja 4.5pts,
  428. 8th Abasov 3pts,
  429. </p>
  430. <p>
  431.  
  432. Round 12 18th April at 19:30BST:
  433. Nakamura-Firouzja,
  434. Abasov-Gukesh,
  435. Caruana-Vidit,
  436. Nepomniachtchi-Praggnanandhaa.
  437. </p>
  438. ]]></description>
  439. <pubDate>Thu Apr 18 16:14:00 2024</pubDate>
  440. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/nepomniachtchi-beats-vidit-in-a-tense-struggle-to-lead-the-candidates-alone-again-on-711</guid>
  441. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  442.  
  443. </item>
  444.  
  445. <item>
  446. <title>Lei join Tan in the lead of the Women's Candidates on 6.5/10 - 10</title>
  447. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/lei-join-tan-in-the-lead-of-the-womens-candidates-on-6.510</link>
  448. <description><![CDATA[ The tenth round of the FIDE Women's Candidates saw two decisive
  449. games and Lei Tingjie re-join Tan Zhongyi in the lead on 6.5 points, they're a
  450. point clear of Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno.
  451. </p>
  452. <p>
  453. Goryachkina has the reputation of being one of the most solid
  454. of women's players and she was hitherto undefeated until Lei
  455. beat her today. Goryachkina played the exchange Slav with
  456. white and after 23.Rc1? (23.Re1, 23.a3 were both better)
  457. Kg6 was in major trouble. 31...Bd3?! lost quite a bit of
  458. the advantage and Goryachkina was soon back level, 37.f3?
  459. was however a terrible move after which she was completely
  460. busted, 43...Bc8? (43...Bxe4) gave white hope and at
  461. move 60 the game was equal. Goryachkina thought the game
  462. was over as a draw, she missed 60...f5 and in shock
  463. played 61.Nxe5?? (61.exf5=) Kf4! and this time there
  464. was no escape.
  465. </p>
  466. <p>
  467.  
  468. Rameshbabu Vaishali is having a miserable time of it
  469. and this should have continued against Nurgyul Salimova.
  470. Salimova was happily converting a winning advantage
  471. until the careless 54...Nc5?= (54...Rh8 was the direct win),
  472. then 58...Nb7? also lost (58...Rh7+ holds) 59.d8=Q? is back
  473. equal (59.Re8 or 59.Kg8 win) and then 67.Kd6? finally
  474. is winning for Vaishali and it turned out there was no coming back for
  475. Salimova.
  476. </p>
  477. <p>
  478.  
  479. The remaining two games were drawn. Tan against Humpy Koneru
  480. was a Scotch where black looked to be better at one stage
  481. but a long Rook and Pawn endgame was drawn.
  482. Kateryna Lagno against Anna Muzychuk featured some eye watering
  483. computer generated opening theory in the Open Ruy Lopez.
  484. Muzychuk had a massively better pawn structure in the endgame
  485. but white's bishop meant that winning chances never materialised.
  486. </p>
  487. <p>
  488.  
  489. Round 10 Standings:
  490. 1st= Lei Tingjie, Tan Zhongyi 6.5pts,
  491. 3rd= Goryachkina, Lagno, 5.5pts
  492. 5th Koneru 4.5pts
  493. 6th= Salimova, Muzychuk 4pts
  494. 8th Vaishali 3.5pts
  495. </p>
  496. <p>
  497. Rest Day Tuesday 16th April 2024
  498. </p>
  499. <p>
  500.  
  501. Round 11 17th April at 19:30BST:
  502. Tan-Lagno,
  503. Koneru-Salimova,
  504. Vaishali-Goryachkina,
  505. Lei-Muzychuk.
  506.  
  507. </p>
  508.  
  509. ]]></description>
  510. <pubDate>Tue Apr 16 17:56:00 2024</pubDate>
  511. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/lei-join-tan-in-the-lead-of-the-womens-candidates-on-6.510</guid>
  512. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  513.  
  514. </item>
  515.  
  516. <item>
  517. <title>Nakamura and Caruana win to get back into contention after 10 rounds of the Candidates - 10</title>
  518. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/nakamura-and-caruana-win-to-get-back-into-contention-after-10-rounds-of-the-candidates</link>
  519. <description><![CDATA[ The tenth round of the FIDE Candidates tournament saw the leaders
  520. Gukesh and Ian Nepomniachtchi draw and wins for Hikaru Nakamura
  521. and Fabiano Caruana. This leaves Nepomniachtchi and Gukesh
  522. on 6, Praggnanandhaa, Nakamura and Caruana on 5.5 and Vidit
  523. on 5 all in the mix. A playoff rather than a technical tie-break
  524. coefficient will decide the winner.
  525. </p>
  526. <p>
  527. Nepomniachtchi played quite a solid Ruy Lopez line against
  528. Gukesh. The main point of interest seems to have been
  529. whether 19.c3 led anywhere, but this was a computer
  530. move rather than a human one. After 19.Rd3 a draw
  531. was favourite until the end of the game.
  532. </p>
  533. <p>
  534.  
  535. Hikaru Nakamura built up a very large advantage by move 18 against
  536. Nijat Abasov in a Petroff. Nakamura wasn't the most accurate
  537. after this but Abasov's position remained unenviable until
  538. 27.Bf4?! (27.g5 just getting on with the attack was winning)
  539. and suddenly not only was Nakamura not better but he was worse/losing.
  540. Then the game turned again 36...Qe7? (36...Bc7 was the best but not only
  541. good move for black) 37.Be5! and white was winning again. 38.Ne3!
  542. would have finished things off but event after 38.Ng3 Rxe5 the
  543. damage had been done and Nakamura went on to win.
  544. </p>
  545. <p>
  546.  
  547. Fabiano Caruana beat Alireza Firouzja in a really wild game. 6.Rg1
  548. showed that Caruana knew this was a day he had to gamble. The game
  549. was really difficult, 13...Be6? was a mistake but both players
  550. missed that 14.Bxe6 was in fact winning for white after the accurate
  551. 14...fxe5 15.e5. 14.Be2 instead left white with nothing. The Open
  552. Candidates has no increment and this game was decided in time trouble
  553. with Firouzja wrecking his position just to make time control
  554. with only a few seconds for his final moves up to move 40.
  555. </p>
  556. <p>
  557.  
  558. Praggnanandhaa against Santosh Vidit saw solid play from both
  559. sides in a Ruy Lopez Berlin.
  560. </p>
  561. <p>
  562.  
  563. Round 10 Standings:
  564. 1st= Gukesh, Nepomniachtchi 6pts,
  565. 3rd= Praggnanandhaa, Nakamura, Caruana 5.5pts,
  566. 6th Vidit 5pts,
  567. 7th Firouzja 3.5pts,
  568. 8th Abasov 3pts.
  569. </p>
  570. <p>
  571.  
  572. Rest Day Tuesday 16th April
  573. </p>
  574. <p>
  575.  
  576. Round 11 17th April at 19:30BST:
  577. Praggnanandhaa-Nakamura,
  578. Vidit-Nepomniachtchi,
  579. Gukesh-Caruana,
  580. Firouzja-Abasov.
  581.  
  582. </p>
  583.  
  584. ]]></description>
  585. <pubDate>Tue Apr 16 17:17:00 2024</pubDate>
  586. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/nakamura-and-caruana-win-to-get-back-into-contention-after-10-rounds-of-the-candidates</guid>
  587. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  588.  
  589. </item>
  590.  
  591. <item>
  592. <title>Tan bounces back with a win over Vaishali to regain the Women's Candidates sole lead after 9 rounds - 9</title>
  593. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-bounces-back-with-a-win-over-vaishali-to-regain-the-womens-candidates-sole-lead-after-9-rounds</link>
  594. <description><![CDATA[ Tan Zhongyi scored a quick victory against Rameshbabu Vaishali in Round 9 of the Women's
  595. Candidates tournament in Toronto and that eventually proved to be enough to lead
  596. alone on 6/9.
  597. </p>
  598. <p>
  599. Tan claimed to have surprised Vaishali with her choice of opening, I'm not sure
  600. at what move that was but after Vaishali's 11.Ng5 the position became tricky
  601. to handle for both sides. 13.h4?! (13.Na3) was ambitious but the key moment
  602. came with 16.c4? (16.Bxd6 is only a tiny bit worse for white) f6! and
  603. white was already in dire straits. 18.c5? was another error and
  604. the collapse was complete with 19. ...Nxd4 20. Qe3? Nxc2.
  605. </p>
  606. <p>
  607.  
  608. Lei Tingjie looked to be heading for a quick victory herself
  609. against Nurgyul Salimova. The choice of the Philidor's
  610. by Salimova was probably in the name of unpredictability,
  611. she's been changing her openings pretty much every round,
  612. but her position was just bad. The key moment came when
  613. Lei played the obviously passive 16.Bd2 when 16.g6 or 16.Rg4
  614. would have been much better and the position was soon level
  615. and the game finished in a draw by repetition.
  616. </p>
  617. <p>
  618.  
  619. Humpy Koneru and Kateryna Lagno drew a Ragozin
  620. in 57 move. Koneru was pushing for some time
  621. after the opening but after 36.Rd1?! (36.Ra2)
  622. she dropped a pawn but the resulting rook and pawn
  623. endgame was still drawn after accurate play.
  624. </p>
  625. <p>
  626.  
  627. Anna Muzychuk and Aleksandra Goryachkina drew
  628. a Berlin Defence in 45 moves. Muzychuk managed
  629. to get her bishop trapped but had just enough
  630. pawns to hold the endgame.
  631. </p>
  632. <p>
  633.  
  634. Round 9 Standings:
  635. 1st Tan, Zhongyi 6pts
  636. 2nd= Lei Tingjie, Goryachkina 5.5pts
  637. 4th Lagno 5pts
  638. 5th= Salimova, Koneru 4pts
  639. 7th Muzychuk 3.5pts
  640. 8th Vaishali 2.5pts
  641. </p>
  642. <p>
  643.  
  644.  
  645. Round 10 15th April at 19:30BST:
  646. Lagno-Muzychuk,
  647. Goryachkina-Lei,
  648. Salimova-Vaishali,
  649. Tan-Koneru.
  650. </p>
  651.  
  652. ]]></description>
  653. <pubDate>Mon Apr 15 11:12:00 2024</pubDate>
  654. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/tan-bounces-back-with-a-win-over-vaishali-to-regain-the-womens-candidates-sole-lead-after-9-rounds</guid>
  655. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  656.  
  657. </item>
  658.  
  659. <item>
  660. <title>Nepomniachtchi saves a difficult position against Firouzja and retains the lead of the Candidates with Gukesh after Round 9 - 9</title>
  661. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/nepomniachtchi-saves-a-difficult-position-against-firouzja-and-retains-the-lead-of-the-candidates-with-gukesh-after-round-9</link>
  662. <description><![CDATA[ The ninth round of the FIDE Candidates in Toronto saw just the one decisive game when Santosh Vidit
  663. beat Hikaru Nakamura but the joint leader Ian Nepomniachtchi looked to be in trouble against
  664. Alireza Firouzja. In the end Gukesh and Nepomniachtchi share the lead with 5.5/9 half a point clear of Praggnanandhaa.
  665. </p>
  666. <p>
  667. Hikaru Nakamura seemed to have moved into contention with his round 8 victory against Caruana
  668. but went backwards again today by losing for the second time against Santosh Vidit. Nakamura's
  669. Round 2 loss was an unmitigated disaster, this one he was just outplayed, twice. Nakamura was equal
  670. out of the opening, 20...Rc8 (20...Nf4=) was the start of a bad plan, 21.Ra3 c5? (21...Nf4 slight advantage
  671. to white was best) was really bad and white should have been a lot better, but only if Vidit found 22.Ng4.
  672. After 22.dxc4?! the position after 22...Nf5 was equal. Nakamura was fine again but soon went wrong 24.b4 Rc8?! (24...axb4=)
  673. and Vidit grabbed an important a-pawn.  With 27...Nxe5? (27...Rcd8) Nakamura made what turned out
  674. to be the decisive error as Vidit played accurately until the end of the game giving no further chances at all.
  675. </p>
  676. <p>
  677.  
  678. Alireza Firouzja put Ian Nepomniachtchi under great pressure. He chose a very slow double
  679. fianchetto setup with white and managed to get a significant edge. The key moment
  680. seems to have been on move 29. White had to choose between 30.gxf6 as played or closing the
  681. King's wing with 30.g6 and then opening the Queenside. The way Firouzja chose looked
  682. dangerous but Nepomniachtchi held, 30.g6 looks more promising in retrospect.
  683. </p>
  684. <p>
  685.  
  686. Gukesh against Praggnanandhaa was a slow manoeuvring game. The engines think white
  687. might have had some small edge about move 30 but it just looked like a well played draw.
  688. Fabiano Caruana just about won the opening battle with the black pieces against Nijat Abasov.
  689. 3.Bb4 in a Queen's Gambit turned into a Semi-Slav. Caruana was fine but Abasov didn't give
  690. any more ground and the game was drawn in 44 moves.
  691. </p>
  692. <p>
  693.  
  694. Round 9 Standings:
  695. 1st= Gukesh, Nepomniachtchi 5.5pts
  696. 3rd Praggnanandhaa, R 5pts
  697. 4th= Nakamura, Vidit, Caruana 4.5pts
  698. 7th Firouzja 3.5pts
  699. 8th Abasov 3pts.
  700. </p>
  701. <p>
  702.  
  703. Round 10 15th April at 19:30BST:
  704. Nakamura-Abasov,
  705. Caruana-Firouzja,
  706. Nepomniachtchi-Gukesh,
  707. Praggnanandhaa-Vidit.
  708.  
  709. </p>
  710.  
  711. ]]></description>
  712. <pubDate>Mon Apr 15 09:38:00 2024</pubDate>
  713. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/nepomniachtchi-saves-a-difficult-position-against-firouzja-and-retains-the-lead-of-the-candidates-with-gukesh-after-round-9</guid>
  714. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  715.  
  716. </item>
  717.  
  718. <item>
  719. <title>Gukesh joins Nepomniachtchi in the lead after beating Vidit in Round 8 - 8</title>
  720. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/gukesh-joins-nepomniachtchi-in-the-lead-after-beating-vidit-in-round-8</link>
  721. <description><![CDATA[ The FIDE Candidates in Toronto is heating up nicely after eight rounds. Gukesh joined Ian Nepomniachtchi
  722. in the lead and Hikaru Nakamura moved into contention alongside Praggnanandhaa.
  723. Fabiano Caruana's loss to Nakamura took him back to 50% and is surely a major blow.
  724. </p>
  725. <p>
  726. Gukesh recovered from his loss in Round 7 with a win against Santosh
  727. Vidit in a Two Knights with 4.d3. Superficially it might
  728. have seemed like it was Vidit who had the initiative after
  729. the opening, he was pushing pawns and making breaks, but
  730. Gukesh had the a-file and white's position was deteriorating
  731. with almost every move. Gukesh crashed in down the a-file, took a left
  732. turn towards Vidit's King and checkmated it.
  733. </p>
  734. <p>
  735.  
  736. Hikaru Nakamura beat Fabiano Caruana in 35 moves from a quiet Ruy Lopez
  737. Berlin. You would scarcely believe it possible for a player
  738. of Caruana's class to lose the position he had at move 24 but
  739. starting with 24...Qg5?! (24...Re7 is to be preferred and the chosen
  740. move turns out to be messy) it seemed like black was on the back foot
  741. to the end. After 28...Nf8?! (28...Qd7 was better) black was in serious
  742. trouble. 29...Qd8?! (29...Qd7) 30.h5 (30.Qf4 is better) 30...Bd7? (30...Qb6 was
  743. not so bad for black) left black lost and 33...b5? ended the game to a trivial
  744. tactic. According to <a href="https://thechessmind.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email">Dennis Monokroussos' The Chess Mind email on the round</a> this was Nakamura's fourth classical win with the white pieces in a row against Caruana.
  745. This seems like the kind of loss that might be hard to come back from.
  746. </p>
  747. <p>
  748.  
  749. Praggnanandhaa against Alireza Firouzja looked like it might be the
  750. game of the day, 5...Qc7 was I think supposed to be a surprise but
  751. after Praggnanandhaa's 6.Ncb5, the 12th most common move in this
  752. position, albeit still with a plus score for white, Alireza went
  753. into a big think. 12...Ne7 was new and the engines think 13.b3 is
  754. the best reaction, 13.0-0 with c3 and b4 to follow seems like the
  755. wrong plan, although one that is still equal. Soon after dynamic
  756. trades happened at fairly regular intervals until there was nothing
  757. to do but agree a draw.
  758. </p>
  759. <p>
  760.  
  761. Ian Nepomniachtchi against Nijat Abasov was a Petroff
  762. where the engines say black equalised about move 22.
  763. By move 36 black's task was clear, it was level but
  764. with a pair of pawns on the Queenside it was
  765. still black who had to be accurate, and as far as
  766. I can tell Abasov played it perfectly
  767. and never was in the slightest trouble. Draw in 63 moves.
  768. Is Nepomniachtchi becalmed?
  769. </p>
  770. <p>Round 8 Standings:
  771. 1st= Gukesh, Nepomniachtchi 5pts;
  772. 3rd= Nakamura, Praggnanandhaa 4.5pts;
  773. 5th Caruana 4pts;
  774. 6th Vidit 3.5pts;
  775. 7th Firouzja 3pts
  776. 8th Abasov, 2.5pts.
  777. </p>
  778. <p>
  779. Round 9 14th April at 19:30BST:
  780. Vidit-Nakamura,
  781. Gukesh-Praggnanandhaa,
  782. Firouzja-Nepomniachtchi,
  783. Abasov-Caruana.
  784. </p>
  785. ]]></description>
  786. <pubDate>Sun Apr 14 12:36:00 2024</pubDate>
  787. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/gukesh-joins-nepomniachtchi-in-the-lead-after-beating-vidit-in-round-8</guid>
  788. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  789.  
  790. </item>
  791.  
  792. <item>
  793. <title>Lei, Tan and Goryachkina lead the Women's Candidates with 5/8 - 8</title>
  794. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/lei-tan-and-goryachkina-lead-the-womens-candidates-with-58</link>
  795. <description><![CDATA[ Tan Zhongyi was joined by Lei Tingjie and Aleksandra Goryachkina on 5pts
  796. after 8 Rounds of the Women's Candidates tournament in Toronto.
  797. It was all so unnecessary too, Tan turned down a draw by repetition
  798. by playing the risky and objectively not very good 21.f4 and
  799. her position more or less went downhill from there.
  800. </p>
  801. <p>
  802. There's been very little for Humpy Koneru or
  803. Rameshbabu Vaishali to smile about in this event
  804. and the latter had her 3rd loss in a row, she
  805. was worse and then lost the exchange and that was
  806. pretty much that by move 17.
  807. </p>
  808. <p>
  809.  
  810. Kateryna Lagno against Aleksandra Goryachkina
  811. was a fairly well played Ruy Lopez Berlin
  812. which was agreed drawn by repetition on move
  813. 34. A small fly in the ointment of this tale
  814. is that instead of repeating with Qd2 Lagno
  815. could have played Bc1 which the engines say
  816. gave her a pretty large advantage.
  817. </p>
  818. <p>
  819.  
  820. Nurgyul Salimova was white against Anna Muzychuk and this was a marathon
  821. 120 move draw, although almost the last 50 of those
  822. was an attempt to win Rook vs Knight. Salimova had opportunities to
  823. win this game. The first key moment was where Salimova got her chances,
  824. 30.Nc7 left black having to find the only move
  825. 30...Ba4 for equality, instead the second best 30...Bxb4 was
  826. played and white was winning. The second key moment
  827. was white had to find 34.Ra1 for the largest advantage
  828. or 34.Bd3 to keep her big edge. Instead 34.f3 meant black
  829. was over the worst. White then pressed in a Rook and 3 pawns
  830. vs Knight and 4 pawns endgame. You have to be very careful
  831. in allowing transpositions to King and Pawn endgames, sometimes
  832. the result is not what you expect. Here for one move only white
  833. was winning with 54.Rxe5 and then an 8 move sequence leading to zugzwang
  834. had to be calculated (and other side variations). But given the winning chances were obviously
  835. not high continuing the way it was, maybe it was worth Salimova giving it a punt anyway,
  836. even if all the details couldn't be precisely seen it might have been possible to tell this was a potential opportunity.
  837. </p>
  838. <p>
  839.  
  840. Round 8 Standings:
  841. 1st= Lei Tingjie, Goryachkina, Tan Zhongyi 5pts;
  842. 4th Lagno 4.5pts;
  843. 5th= Salimova, Koneru 3.5.pts;
  844. 7th Muzychuk 3pts;
  845. 8th Vaishali 2.5pts.
  846. </p>
  847. <p>
  848.  
  849. Round 9 14th April at 19:30BST:
  850. Koneru-Lagno,
  851. Vaishali-Tan,
  852. Lei-Salimova,
  853. Muzychuk-Goryachkina.
  854.  
  855.  
  856. </p>
  857. ]]></description>
  858. <pubDate>Sun Apr 14 11:46:00 2024</pubDate>
  859. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-womens-candidates-tournament-2024/lei-tan-and-goryachkina-lead-the-womens-candidates-with-58</guid>
  860. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  861.  
  862. </item>
  863.  
  864. <item>
  865. <title>Gukesh loses to Firouzja in Round 7 of the Candidates - 7</title>
  866. <link>https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/gukesh-loses-to-firouzja-in-round-7-of-the-candidates</link>
  867. <description><![CDATA[ Ian Nepomniachtchi leads the FIDE Candidates with 4.5/7
  868. at the half way stage. Nepomniachtchi hasn't looked that
  869. steady in the last three rounds and in Round 7 he and
  870. Hikaru Nakamura engaged in a memory competition for
  871. a mind bending computer line in the Petroff. It seems
  872. that Nepomniachtchi was the first to forget something
  873. important as 21...Bf5? was significantly worse than
  874. 21...Kg8. Nakamura thought for a long time over
  875. his 25.Qe2?! which turned out to be distinctly second
  876. best to 24.Ndf3 (eval over +1) Nepomniachtchi obviously
  877. realised the problem and after Qe2 bashed out 25...Ne4!
  878. immediately with obvious relief, the game was level and Nepomniachtchi had
  879. no problem proving it.
  880. </p>
  881. <p>
  882. Alireza Firouzja is going to be a dangerous wildcard
  883. as he's pretty obviously out of contention to win the
  884. thing, not least because he's obviously not playing
  885. well, but today he beat joint leader Gukesh.
  886. Firouzja played the London and Gukesh was level
  887. at move 20 and better after 21.Ra1?! gradually the
  888. game equalised and Queen's came off. But on the run
  889. up to first time control Gukesh bet that his passed
  890. a-pawn was more important than Firouzja's kingside threats,
  891. the evaluation remained level until 36...Kh7? (36...b5)
  892. 37.Rf3 a3? (37...Kg8 was better but still losing)
  893. and Firouzja had forced mate after 39.Nf8!
  894. </p>
  895. <p>
  896.  
  897. Fabiano Caruana played the Advanced French against
  898. Praggnanandhaa. The Indian has been switching his
  899. openings virtually every round and has been very
  900. unpredictable. Caruana was better out of the opening
  901. but by move 17 it was black for choice, trades steadily
  902. happened and a draw was agreed on move 41.
  903. </p>
  904. <p>
  905.  
  906. Santosh Vidit got serious winning chances
  907. on the black side of a Ruy Lopez against
  908. Nijat Abasov. At first white was better but
  909. 31.Ne2? was a mistake after which black took
  910. over for a bit but on the runup to first time
  911. control neither side played the best
  912. 37...Rd6? (37.Qd6!) 39.Nb1? (39.Nc3=) and 41.g4?=
  913. (41.Rh7!) After this equality remained and the game was
  914. drawn in 52 moves.
  915. </p>
  916. <p>
  917.  
  918. Round 7 Standings:
  919. 1st Nepomniachtchi 4.5pts
  920. 2nd= Gukesh, Caruana, Praggnanandhaa 4.0pts
  921. 5th= Nakamura, Vidit 3.5pts
  922. 7th Firouzja 2.5pts
  923. 8th Abasov 2.0pts
  924. </p>
  925. <p>
  926.  
  927. Rest Day 12th April
  928. </p>
  929. <p>
  930.  
  931. Round 8 13th April at 19:30BST:
  932. Nakamura-Caruana,
  933. Nepomniachtchi-Abasov,
  934. Praggnanandhaa-Firouzja,
  935. Vidit-Gukesh.
  936. </p>
  937.  
  938. ]]></description>
  939. <pubDate>Fri Apr 12 01:21:00 2024</pubDate>
  940. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/fide-candidates-2024/gukesh-loses-to-firouzja-in-round-7-of-the-candidates</guid>
  941. <dc:creator>Mark Crowther </dc:creator>
  942.  
  943. </item>
  944.  
  945. </channel>
  946. </rss>

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