The first day of the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament - the toughest tournament in chess - in Toronto came to an end on Thursday night after a number of exciting games, most finishing in a draw.
From an Indian perspective, the big games were the all-Indian battles commence between R. Vaishali and Koneru Humpy in the women's Candidates, while D. Gukesh and Vidit Gujrathi faced off in the men's tournament - both ended in draws. R. Praggnanandhaa took on Alireja Firouzja on the first day too, and they were the last players to finish in the Candidates Tournament, also ending the round in a draw.
In fact, all Candidates Tournament (the men's tournament) matches were draws. The only decisive result of the day was China's Tan Zhongyi beating Lei Tingjie in the Women's Candidates.
This start highlights just how hard this competition between the very evenly matched top 8 players in the world is. Simply put, the Candidates is a winner-takes-it-all tournament that decides who will compete in the World Championship match the challenge the reigning world champion. Each player plays the other from the 8 who have qualified and has to be prepared for the long game.
In the inaugural round, Vidit, who was playing with the black pieces, executed a 17. ...Bg4, which is a bit of a trick move. It may have caught Gukesh by surprise but he recovered and the draw took just 21 moves.
High-level chess has a reputation for being boring and draw-ish, so shout out to Gukesh and Vidit for playing an absolutely insane game to start out the Candidates (white can't take and the engine gives 0.0 in this position): https://t.co/4VwqZIZXqf pic.twitter.com/1UeFTUpIoK
- Steven White (@notstevenwhite) April 4, 2024
The match between Praggnanandhaa, playing with black pieces, and Alireja was one of the more exciting ones on the opening day. The official report described it as "a very double-edged game." Both tried an attacking game to reach the king quickly but the computer evaluation was nearly equal and the battle ended with a draw in perpetual checks.
Praggnanandhaa starts his journey at the Candidates 2024 with a draw! On the first round, he drew against Alireza Firouzja with the Black pieces.
This was one of the most exciting games of the round. In a double-edged position where both sides have a strong attack and White is a... pic.twitter.com/hudoSqotjq
- ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) April 5, 2024
In the Women's Candidates, veteran Humpy played with the white pieces against youngster Vaishali in an inter-generational clash for women's chess in India. It was an even game with nothing flashy about it and the teenager gave a good account of herself as the game ended in a draw after 41 moves.
The Indian women's chess battle concludes in a draw, with ���� Vaishali Rameshbabu (2475), making her debut in the Women's Candidates, holding her ground against the experienced ���� Humpy Koneru (2546), despite time constraints.
�� Michal Walusza pic.twitter.com/HHHmHzmc7t
- International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 4, 2024
Fabiano Caruana vs Hikaru Nakamura was a highlight of the day from a neutral lens, and they battled it out in a bold manner but went with a little risk approach as the clock ran out.
The second round will be later today (past midnight IST) with another all-Indian clash between Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh while Vidit will face a tough challenge against Nakamura. Vaishal will take on Tan, the only winner from Day 1 and Humpy plays Kateryna Lagno from Russia.
Standings after Round 1:
FIDE Candidates Tournament:
1-8: Caruana, Abasov, Firouzja, Gukesh D, Vidit, Praggnanandhaa R, Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura - 0.5 points
FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament:
Tan - 1 2-7. Goryachkina, Anna Muzychuk, Vaishali R, Koneru, Salimova, Lagno - 0.5 8. Lei - 0
Round 2 pairings
FIDE Candidates Tournament: Nakamura - Vidit Praggnanandhaa R - Gukesh D Nepomniachtchi - Firouzja Caruana - Abasov
FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament: Lagno - Koneru Tan - Vaishali R Salimova - Lei Goryachkina - Anna Muzychuk
Schedule
OPEN CATEGORY
WOMEN'S CATEGORY