It was a successful day for India's men as R Praggnanadhaa and Vidit Gujrathi posted wins in the sixth round of the 2024 FIDE Candidates tournament on Thursday, while D Gukesh drew with one of the title favourites - Hikaru Nakamura - to continue to jointly lead the Open standings. In the women's section, both Koneru Humpy and R Vaishali slipped to losses as China's Zhongyi Tan cemented her position atop the standings.
Results in round 6 (of 14):
FIDE Candidates Tournament (Open):
Vidit Gujrathi (IND) beat Alireza Firouzja
R Praggnanandhaa (IND) beat Nijat Abasov (UZB)
D Gukesh (IND) drew Hikaru Nakamura (USA)
Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS) drew Fabiano Caruana (USA)
FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament:
Zhongyi Tan (CHN) beat Anna Muzychuk (UKR)
Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) beat Nurgyul Salimova (BUL)
Lei Tingjie (CHN) beat Koneru Humpy (IND)
Kateryna Lagno (RUS) beat Vaishali R (IND)
Vidit and Pragg post wins
Praggnanadhaa bounced back to winning ways with a victory over Abasov, who had lost to Gukesh in round five. The duo exchanged momentum repeatedly and played out an intense endgame before Praggnanadhaa reigned supreme. The Indian was the better player on the board and his calculations were far more precise than his opponent's, which saw him climb to the joint third place.
Vidit earned his second win of the tournament as he trapped Firouzja on move 14.e5 and the latter was forced into his second consecutive loss. The Indian GM had earlier beaten Nakamura in round two and nearly got past Fabiano Caruana in round five. Firouzja chose to play the Sicilian Defence and deviated from the most popular lines, but that did not deter Vidit. He won an exchange on move 26 and smoothly wrapped up the win. When asked to justify Firouzja's quick opening play that led to a difficult position, Vidit said: "Probably it's a bit of tilt. He lost yesterday, he's on -3, and the tournament is not going his way. It happens; sometimes you become a bit emotional when you're tilted."
His compatriot Gukesh played out a creditable draw with world #3 Nakamura to continue to jointly-lead the standings along with Nepomniachtchi. "I thought I had a slight pull in the opening, but [his] 14...Nc8 idea was very strong. I could not really see anything for White after that," Gukesh said after the game.
The reaction of @viditchess' trainers @suryachess64 and Daniele Vocaturo after his win over Alireza Firouzja! pic.twitter.com/4ECGfj0cPQ
- ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) April 10, 2024
Zhongyi on top, Humpy and Vaishali slip to losses
Zhongyi extended her lead at the top with her third win as she beat Muzychuk while playing with White. The Chinese had the game going her way and was in a winning position but erred and offered Muzychuk an escape towards the end of the game. However, Muzychuk did not find the 34...Bxe6 resource in time trouble and resigned soon after.
Lagno claimed her first win of the tournament as she beat Vaishali to mov into the third spot. Humpy's campaign took a downward turn as she lost to Tingjie and now finds herself at the bottom of the standings. The game was evenly balanced until move 35 when the players entered endgame. Considering the clock was running out on her, Humpy made a wrong move and that let Tingjie capture a key pawn on a2, after which the game was pretty much sealed.
Kateryna Lagno (2542) defeats ���� Vaishali Rameshbabu (2475) and gets the first decisive result of the day. Despite the engine suggesting an even match, it looked uncomfortable and needed precise defence, which wasn't easy to find.
Round 6, Women's #FIDECandidates�� Michal... pic.twitter.com/nLVtqam65b
- International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 10, 2024
Note - There are five Indians playing the Candidates for the first time, which is a winner-takes-it-all tournament between the top 8 players in the world to decide who will compete in the World Championship match to challenge the reigning world champion.
Standings after Round 6 (of 14):
FIDE Candidates Tournament (Open):
1-2: Nepomniachtchi (4), Gukesh (4)
3-4: Caruana (3.5), Praggnanandhaa (3.5)
5-6: Nakamura (3), Vidit (3)
7-8: Abasov (1.5), Firouzja (1.5)
FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament:
1: Zhongyi (4.5)
2: Goryachkina (4)
3: Lagno (3.5)
4: Tingjie (3)
5-6: Salimova (2.5), Vaishali (2.5)
7-8: Muzychuk (2), Humpy (2)
Schedule
OPEN CATEGORY
WOMEN'S CATEGORY