Ian Nepomniachtchi Beats Alireza Firouzja in Round 11 of FIDE Candidates Tournament
Three more rounds are ahead.
![Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage](/upload/iblock/ad5/b74m2gquv91u6tl4p1hvb70dyci1xzsz/00_zast_52184683659_c18d066fd6_k.jpg)
The 11th round of the FIDE Candidates Tournament is concluded in Madrid. The leader Ian Nepomniachtchi had the black pieces against Alireza Firouzja. The young French grandmaster executed a very risky pawn offensive on the kingside thus weakening his own monarch's position. In a key moment, Ian grabbed the initiative, having sacrificed a piece, and managed to make use of the poor cooperation of his opponent's pieces. Soon Nepomniachtchi achieved a material edge himself. Firouzja resigned on the 35th move.
Fabiano Caruana, who had White against Ding Liren, skillfully attacked the rival's bastions and got a sizeable advantage at some point. However, then he played inaccurately, and Ding managed to equalise. The tournament situation made Fabiano continue fighting for a win: as a result, he went too far and lost.
The games Nakamura - Rapport and Radjabov - Duda were drawn.
Standings after Round 11:
1. Ian Nepomniachtchi - 8
2. Ding Liren - 6.5
3. Hikaru Nakamura - 6
4. Fabiano Caruana - 5.5
5. Teimour Radjabov - 5
6-7. Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Richard Rapport - 4.5
8. Alireza Firouzja - 4.
Round 12 pairings:
Rapport - Caruana, Ding - Radjabov, Duda - Firouzja, Nepomniachtchi - Nakamura.
Official website