Defending champion Nepomniachtchi is only one victory away from securing the Candidates crown as Ding falls to a distant position.
Defending champion Nepomniachtchi is only one victory away from securing the Candidates crown as Ding falls to a distant position. The Candidates had a day full of twists and turns on July 1, 2022. This round could be very important for the rest of the tournament. The match between Fabiano Caruana and Ding Liren was the giant fight of the day and could have been the biggest surprise of the whole tournament. After six and a half hours of play, during which both players took and lost leads, Ding’s nerves were stronger, and he beat Caruana in a stunning game.
Caruana’s Game
In a popular line of the Anti-Marshall in the Ruy Lopez that has been tested a lot lately (including in the World Championship match), Caruana tried something new on the move 15 by sending his knights to the f5 square. On g7, White put his knight in the middle of the black king’s fortress, which was an unusual move. Black began his counterattack on the queen’s side and in the middle of the board, which forced Caruana to move his knight. After some moves, the board was about even, but Ding thought his chances were better than they were and made a mistake by playing 30…exf4, 31…g5, and 32…Qe5. Caruana jumped on f5 right away with his knight, and Black had to sound the retreat and switch to defense.
Ian Nepomniachtchi beats Alireza Firouzja
Ian Nepomniachtchi, who is leading the tournament, beat Alireza Firouzja, who is the youngest player in the Candidates and who many people thought would do great things in this tournament, with black pieces. This was an important and easy win. Nepomniachtchi was very steady and played very well in every game he played in this event. But in this game, as in some others in Madrid, Firouzja lost because he started his attack too early by moving his pawns toward the king. This attack not only didn’t work, but it quickly went in the wrong direction. Firouzja should be praised for playing with ambition, as he has done in every other game so far. But at this level of play, an ambition that isn’t based on reality is doomed to fail. Nepomniachchi is almost impossible to catch with three rounds left and a score of plus five.
About Round 12
Friday, July 1, at 3 p.m. CEST at the Palacio de Santona in Madrid, Round 12 of the Candidates began.
Here are the pairs for the 12th round:
- Richard Rapport vs Fabiano Caruana
- Ding Liren vs Teimour Radjabov
- Jan-Krzysztof Duda vs Alireza Firouzja
- Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Hikaru Nakamura
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