Ian Nepomniachtchi failed to capitalize on his victory of the previous day. Doubtless exhausted by his memorable fight against Santosh Gujrathi Vidit, the Russian stumbled with the whites on Thursday against Praggnanandhaa. With a total of 7.5/12, he’s still in with a chance of winning the Candidates for the third time in a row, but he’ll have to fight to the bitter end.
Two men are right up there with him, Nakamura and Gukesh, and a third, Caruana, lies in ambush half a point behind. In other words, nothing is done yet, and the ex-aequo are likely to go head-to-head in a fast-moving game.
The momentum is unquestionably with Hikaru Nakamura, who recorded a third straight victory, this time at the expense of Alireza Firouzja. The American is on a roll! The third man, Dommaraju Gukesh, is the least experienced (17 years old) but not the least talented. On Thursday, he was the first player in the tournament to take down Abasov with the whites.
To stay in touch with this infernal trio, Fabiano Caruana dominated Santosh Gujrathi Vidit, who seems to be finishing the tournament on his kneecaps. The American, who started off in diesel mode, could well see himself finishing the tournament on top. The match continues.
