Ian Nepomniachtchi Shares Second at FIDE Candidates

Gukesh and Tan Zhongyi are the winners.

The 2024 FIDE Candidates has concluded in Toronto.  

The real nail-biter was the game between Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachchi. The winner of this game was to catch up with Dommaraju Gukesh, who had drawn Hikaru Nakamura. The Russian grandmaster found himself in a difficult position after the opening, but he showed miracles of ingenuity and the exhausted Caruana could not cope with the complex tactical tasks in front of him and the result was a draw. 

Alireza Firouzja and Santosh Vidit made a quick draw, while Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated Nijat Abasov. 

Now, 17-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh, the youngest challenger in the history of chess, will battle it out with Ding Liren for the world title.

Final standings.

1. Dommaraju Gukesh – 9 points out of 14
2. Hikaru Nakamura - 8.5
3. Ian Nepomniachtchi - 8.5
4. Fabiano Caruana – 8.5 
5. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa – 7
6. Vidit Santosh Gujrathi – 6
7. Alireza Firouzja – 5
8. Nijat Abasov – 3.5.

In the women's tournament, leader Tan Zhongyi won the tournament after making a draw with Anna Muzychuk from a position of strength. Humpy Koneru defeated Lei Tingjie to finish in the share of second place. Also sharing the second place is Rameshbabu Vaishali, who was stronger than Kateryna Lagno. Aleksandra Goryachkina vs. Nurgyul Salimova ended in a draw.

Tan Zhongyi will face Ju Wenjun for the world title. 

Final standings:

1. Tan Zhongyi – 9 points out of 14
2. Humpy Koneru
3. Lei Tingjie
4. Rameshbabu Vaishali – 7.5 
5. Aleksandra Goryachkina – 7
6. Kateryna Lagno – 6.5
7. Nurgyul Salimova - 5.5
8. Anna Muzychuk – 5.5. 

President of the Chess Federation of Russia Andrey Filatov, "Ian Nepomniachtchi has demonstrated good preparation, will to win, and psychological stability at the Candidates Tournament. He has never lost a game and has always been either in the sole or shared lead. However, it has all ended with a sensational victory of Gukesh, the youngest player in history to win the Candidates Tournament! We congratulate the Indian chess player and the whole Indian chess community on this great success! In the women's tournament, Tan Zhongyi showed an outstanding performance and the chess crown will once again remain in China. Our congratulations! As for us, we will work on." 

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