The Candidates’ Tournament is drawing to a close and the suspense is still high. Nepomniachtchi’s white team was unable to outrun Gukesh, who resisted without too much difficulty. The Russian and the Indian are still in the lead (6/10), but the final victory is certainly not a foregone conclusion for either of them, as three players are within half a point of each other.
Alireza Firouzja defeated again
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is still there after his draw with Santosh Gujrathi Vidit, but at the same level are now the two Americans Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. The former dominated Uzbekistan’s Nijat Abassov, while the latter recorded his second victory in the competition, this time at the expense of France’s Alireza Firouzja after a hard-fought match. Should this be enough to revive Caruana, who didn’t seem to be at his best? The Frenchman, meanwhile, disgusted by the unfavorable context since the start of the tournament, is said to have expressed his disgust at chess and his desire to throw it all away…
