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FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022 (8)

Nepomniachtchi in charge after Round 8 of the Candidates

Nakamura put himself in the frame for at least second place by beating Caruana. Photo ©

Nakamura put himself in the frame for at least second place by beating Caruana. Photo © | https://fide.com

Ian Nepomniachtchi took a short draw against Ding Liren with the white pieces in Round 8 of the the FIDE Candidates tournament in Madrid, this turned out to be a very sensible decision as he ended up extending his lead to a full point after his close rival Fabiano Caruana fell back after losing to fellow countryman Hikaru Nakamura in a sharp open Ruy Lopez.

Caruana has white against Nepomniachtchi in Round 9 but will be feeling depressed by his loss today and in addition it took many more hours to happen. If people wonder why players take quick draws in important events then this is why. If I'd been Caruana I wouldn't have gone to war today, not even in retrospect was this the key game, now he's lost ground and has to play the really important game tomorrow with many disadvantages. That said - Caruana wins tomorrow - that still change a lot in his favour. On the other hand if Caruana loses in an all or nothing game against Nepomniachtchi then the battle for first place probably ends or at least Nakamura assumes the role of distant challenger.

Richard Rapport beat Jan-Krzysztof Duda in a fluctuating game where Rapport seemed to lose the opening battle as white but later took over the position and Alireza Firouzja drew with Teimour Radjabov. Sorry for the very brief report but I decided that going to see my favourite band after two years of Covid was an important morale boost for me so I couldn't stay around for the finish of the round.

Round 8 Standings: 1st Nepomniachtchi 6pts, 2nd Caruana 5pts, 3rd Nakamura 4.5pts, 4th Rapport 4pts, 5th Ding Liren 3.5pts, 6th Duda 3pts, 7th Radjabov 3pts, 8th Firouzja 3pts.

Round 9 pairings Monday 27th June 2pm BST: Firouzja-Rapport, Radjabov-Nakamura, Caruana-Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren-Duda.

FIDE World Chess Championship Candidates Round 8 Videos

FIDE Candidates 2022 Madrid ESP (ESP), 16 vi-5 vii 2022 cat. XXI (2772)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Nepomniachtchi, Ian g RUS 2766 * * ½ . ½ . 1 . 1 ½ 1 . ½ . 1 . 6 2969
2. Caruana, Fabiano g USA 2783 ½ . * * 1 0 ½ . ½ . ½ . 1 . 1 . 5 2864
3. Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2760 ½ . 0 1 * * ½ . ½ . ½ . 1 . ½ . 2817
4. Rapport, Richard g HUN 2764 0 . ½ . ½ . * * ½ . ½ 1 ½ . ½ . 4 2770
5. Ding, Liren g CHN 2806 0 ½ ½ . ½ . ½ . * * ½ . ½ . ½ . 2723
6. Duda, Jan-Krzysztof g POL 2750 0 . ½ . ½ . ½ 0 ½ . * * ½ . ½ . 3 2686
7. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2753 ½ . 0 . 0 . ½ . ½ . ½ . * * ½ ½ 3 2689
8. Firouzja, Alireza g FRA 2793 0 . 0 . ½ . ½ . ½ . ½ . ½ ½ * * 3 2679
Round 8 (June 26, 2022)
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Ding, Liren ½-½ 37 C47 Four Knights
Nakamura, Hikaru - Caruana, Fabiano 1-0 74 C82 Ruy Lopez Open Italian Variation
Rapport, Richard - Duda, Jan-Krzysztof 1-0 29 C46 Four Knights
Firouzja, Alireza - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ 93 C50 Giuoco Piano

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Rapport, Richard vs Duda, Jan-Krzysztof

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 Bc5 5. Bg2 d6 6. d3 a5 7. O-O h6 8. b3 O-O 9. h3 Nd4 10. Be3 c6 11. Kh2 Re8 12. a3 Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 Bxe3 14. fxe3 b5 15. g4 Ra7 16. Qg3 h5 17. g5 h4 18. Qxh4 Nh7 19. Qg3 Nxg5 20. h4 Nh7 21. Bh3 Bxh3 22. Rg1 Ng5 23. hxg5 Bc8 24. Rg2 Rae7 25. Qf3 g6 26. Rh1 f5 27. Kg1 b4 28. exf5 gxf5 29. Ne4 1-0

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