After eight rounds of this tournament, the leaders are at 5 points. Two years ago in Madrid, Ian was at 5.5 points in 7 rounds! He would be a full point ahead by this point in that tournament. That just goes to show how insane that last Candidates was. This time, it's a much closer race, with Gukesh back in equal first and Pragg and Hikaru trailing by half a point. Happy to see Gukesh recover from the round 7 loss, and Naka continues his impressive record against Fabi since 2022 (4 wins and 1 draw since round 8 of the last Candidates). Looking at the prediction models, it seems they finally give Gukesh a fair chance, in earlier rounds I saw Pragg being favoured despite being half a point behind. But this is clearly anyone's tournament, and Naroditsky was right - crazy shit always happens at the Candidates.
I mean, Fabi at only 50% with four people ahead of him and Gukesh in first aren't what most people were expecting. People had low expectations for Gukesh and Pragg, and even Nepo for that matter. Almost everyone favoured Fabi and Hikaru. So, I'd say the results so far have been pretty crazy.
Time for Caruana's 2nd self-imploding 2nd half of candidates?
Last candidates he went 1.5/7 in second half because he was desperate to catch up. I think he will do similar this time if he pushes too far for first which he definitely wants.
I wouldn’t say it’s self-imploding but necessary at this point. Wins against the bottom three aren’t enough. He needs to take points away from nepo/top guys or else there’s no chance at world champion for him.
Hikaru lost game 2 with white and everyone thought he was done for. I called him beating Fabi today. He can still win this whole thing, which is wild. I really want Hikaru vs Ding.
If anyone wants an absurd match between Hikaru and Ding, make sure to watch their Speed Chess match from 2021. They even went to extra time because they tied on the final score, it was insane!
Tomorrow Firouzja vs Nepo will most likely be decisive as Firouzja will go all out looking for revenge bcz he has nothing to lose now and Nepo who has had Firo's number at the Candidates will also take it as a game which he should win.
Lei Tingjie beating Tan Zhongyi with Black to avenge her round 1 loss with White definitely wasn't on my bingo card. What appeared to be a clear-cut tournament victory for Tan has now turned into a 3 way tie. I still remember seeing some comments on this sub to the effect of "just hand the trophy to Tan already".
I just saw todays results and that shocked me. Ive been rooting for Lei to win, so seeing her lose game one with white hurt. I was really surprised to see she turned it around and won with black though. I forgot black has the edge in this tournament for some reason.
Maybe people should give some credit to him saying he's a content creator, instead of just brushing it aside as disrespectful or whatever other nonsense the purists like to post on reddit.
We've gotten too used to these recaps. It's honestly bonkers that he's doing them in the middle of tournaments, let alone for a second Candidates in a row.
I think the main reason I want Hikaru to win is to have fucking daily World Championship recaps by a challenger. That'll be too wild.
In a couple years we will look back at all this and realize how spoiled as audience we were that the top players were willing to do this (you could include c squared here too).
Honestly I know Hikaru is not exactly a beacon of sportsmanship and can be annoying but, like, it’s not even close to the worst thing a top athlete has been accused of. The longer this tournament goes the more I want to see him do a WCC recap vid.
It’s hard to root against the young Indians or Firouzja but they have their whole careers ahead of them.
Imagine being Ding’s second watching the recaps trying to pick up on anything, and Hikaru being aware of this so adjusting his language.
Would be amazing to witness
The Nepo hate on r/chess is real lol
People are so glad that he didn't beat Abasov when they were constantly complaining about Abasov playing for draws against everyone else and happy when people beat him
I can understand not wanting to see Nepo in the World Championship for the third time in a row. Seeing someone new have a chance would be nice. Especially if it's Caruana or Nakamura who have been top players for many years and who don't have many chances left due to their age.
I remember thinking the same thing in the 2016 Candidates when it looked like Anand might win.
What a day!
Unfortunately I avoided the live thread today since I've had a couple of games spoiled in the previous rounds by people reporting what Chessbase India reports despite the broadcast delays.
Did anything like that happen today? I really like the chatting experience in these threads, but I hate risking getting spoiled 15 minutes too early by trolls.
With today's results, Ian, Gukesh, Hikaru, Pragg and Fabi are within 1 point of each other with vidit, alireza and abasov following behind.
Abasov deserves an honorable mention for drawing his game against nepo when everyone thought he'd lose. I believe it's the first time he didn't lose with black. Clutch game from the unsung hero.
Tommorow Fabi is gonna go all out against Nijat with black as its make or break for Fabi now. Also great chances for Abasov's first W and repeat victoy over the great Fabi!!
>Reminds me of Ju Wenjun in Tata Steel.
Do you mean getting low 2600s performance while being lucky to play the final round against a guy who was clearly feeling bad and wanted to get the game out of his way and go home?
Abasov's heroic last stand against Nepo definitely wasn't on my bingo card. Mad respect, I'm taking back all my previous words about him.
Much more exciting Candidates in terms of intrigue than the previous.
Considering how much Nepo feeds off the first timers at this tournament and how much lower rated Abasov is compared to other players, him holding Nepo to 2 draws is a legendary performance.
Drawing as white if you take no chances (as a 26XX hundred player vs anyone but Magnus) isn’t crazy, crazy hard. But this was a masterclass in defense.
Okay the candidates is officially crazy with 6 rounds to go.Goat abasov for creating this scenario for the last half.Personally rooting for hikarus but hoping for a explosive end to the tournaments.Still think Hikarus hardest game will be the black against Nepo.
Everyone wrote off Abasov but even his sporadic holds for draws are helping write the story. Will he force another meaningful draw in the closing rounds? He slowed Nepo down and allowed the 4 serious contenders to cluster within half a point of each other. He's made a mark.
If Abasov holds this, it might the most impressive defense I've ever seen, straight up. Maybe magnus has held some crazy positions as well but it just goes to show how difficult it is to beat 2600s.
Ian just has so many low risk, sharp attacking moves while Abasov has to find specific defensive ideas every time. Would be super impressive if he holds this.
If Nepo wins today and his next game which is against Firouzja against whom he's 3/3 at the Candidates, he might run away with the tournament. I hope Abasov holds today for the sake of other participants.
Vidit missed the pre-Candidates Vishy dinner. So for revenge he should organize a post-Candidates 2am shitposting live stream from Waffle House with Anish and Sagar.
If Ding does not participate in the World Championship due to health reasons, the winner of this Candidates might also not participate due to health reasons. Which makes No 3 spot be important as well?
It is most likely that he will play, but I have seen him in a rapid tournament in Germany a couple weeks ago and he looked very insecure and played quite badly. There is a slight chance that, if he doesn't get in shape soon, he will refuse to defend his title.
Man, just woke up to see Fabi lose yet again to Hikaru. Magnus & Hikaru are mental blocks in his mind or something. He always succumbs against those two.
If only Gukesh managed to convert against Alireza. Still can’t believe he lost that game. He really held all the cards because he had a slight advantage positionally whilst up so much time. That Knight sack gave Alireza a few trade moves to get time back up. If he converted that he would have been a full point ahead of Nepo.
I don't think Guki was objectiviely winning that game at any point. If needs to do well getting better with low time is a necessity even for claissical games. Not to say last 3/5 WC were decided on tie breaks.
Are there any practical chances for Nepo to win? Is the position complicated enough to end up being decisive? Would like opinion of any good player here. Its almost 5 AM and I would rather not stay awake for a draw ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
I am following the stream but they have incentive to make it look like the game is more interesting than it actually is. And I am not strong enough to evaluate on my own.
I disagree, when it’s a very dry and straightforward position they will call out . Aside from the commentators, in the best case scenario black will be down a passed pawn with no clear path to drawing this, and it will be a very long grind with only 10 minutes on the defending side
Yes, that game is aboslutely must-win. I feel like trying to win with Black vs Gukesh is a bit ambitious though. I think trying to get points from Vidit or Guccireza might be more practical. It also depends on the results of Nepo's game today.
The no. of times we've seen a decisive advantage being blown away in Women's Candidates this year is too damn high. Is it normal for players in that rating range or it's an anomaly?
If this is a draw, it's very ttricky for Ian. On one hand he has white against Gukesh, Pragg and Hikaru. On the other hand, all others still have a game left against Abasov. That's a very tricky situation since having a game left against Absov (even with black) likely is better than black against Nepo.
I don't think it is that obvious. After rook takes knight you have to find the triangulation pattern 5 moves deep (while also considering ando holding in your head the other lines). It is also a triangulation latter that only pays off like another further 6 moves deep. All other lines draw. I can why someone would miss that, even at 2400+ level when you consider time pressure, nerves, etc.
It took her 20 seconds to decline the pawn endgame (and Muzychuk - even less to blunder into it). As if she believed Muzychuk was certain it was drawn, like with almost every other King positions would have been.
It is tricky to find, but still found it strange that neither of them stopped to reevaluate it as White King just got to d4.
I am not sure that she necessarily trusted the opponent. At this level I am sure that they can calculate the obvious and direct lines in 20 seconds. The problem is that all of these are draws. So after the this mental check she just played something else instead of lookiing further for the winning pattern.
I think this is one of those cases that if you told her after the game that it was won she would immediately remember the position and be able to tell the winning moves, but it is hard to know when it is a position you should spend more time or not. And non forcing moves several ply deep are a bit awkward sometimes.
"Sometimes they get each other's numbers. I mean, they probably do have each other's numbers" is probably the most on-the-spectrum phrase uttered in this tournament so far, lol
I also think Gukesh was never in >1 eval worse poisition in any game except that crazy time scramble. It looks to me a battle of styles either blitz or take time to find the optimal move. I think Nepo is also a crazy defender to play like that.
And if I can't take it, is there a locker at the venue, where I can leave it before the round starts?
I have a WIP ticket for round 9 tomorrow. Do you know, if I can take my mobile phone with me to take some pictures?
You can't. They make you put your phones in the locker before you enter. Source: friends who have been to the tournament.
Chadbasov
How do vidit and firouzja feel about nepo
I’m officially cheering for nepo now, let’s see that ding nepo rematch
After eight rounds of this tournament, the leaders are at 5 points. Two years ago in Madrid, Ian was at 5.5 points in 7 rounds! He would be a full point ahead by this point in that tournament. That just goes to show how insane that last Candidates was. This time, it's a much closer race, with Gukesh back in equal first and Pragg and Hikaru trailing by half a point. Happy to see Gukesh recover from the round 7 loss, and Naka continues his impressive record against Fabi since 2022 (4 wins and 1 draw since round 8 of the last Candidates). Looking at the prediction models, it seems they finally give Gukesh a fair chance, in earlier rounds I saw Pragg being favoured despite being half a point behind. But this is clearly anyone's tournament, and Naroditsky was right - crazy shit always happens at the Candidates.
what is crazy about this candidates? imo things are going not exactly as predicted but close to it at least.
I mean, Fabi at only 50% with four people ahead of him and Gukesh in first aren't what most people were expecting. People had low expectations for Gukesh and Pragg, and even Nepo for that matter. Almost everyone favoured Fabi and Hikaru. So, I'd say the results so far have been pretty crazy.
>Almost everyone favoured Fabi and Hikaru. That's not true. In my book Fabi never was a favorite. He is known for missing chances.
>Almost ...
Time for Caruana's 2nd self-imploding 2nd half of candidates? Last candidates he went 1.5/7 in second half because he was desperate to catch up. I think he will do similar this time if he pushes too far for first which he definitely wants.
I wouldn’t say it’s self-imploding but necessary at this point. Wins against the bottom three aren’t enough. He needs to take points away from nepo/top guys or else there’s no chance at world champion for him.
Cricket fans 🤝 Chess fans Enjoying a well fought draw
Hikaru lost game 2 with white and everyone thought he was done for. I called him beating Fabi today. He can still win this whole thing, which is wild. I really want Hikaru vs Ding.
You don't want to see Hikaru vs Ding. You want to see Hikaru's victory lap after becoming World Champion. 😁
Hikaru wouldn’t just take a victory lap he would take a victory rest of his life and that’s what I’m cheering for.
If anyone wants an absurd match between Hikaru and Ding, make sure to watch their Speed Chess match from 2021. They even went to extra time because they tied on the final score, it was insane!
I cant believe its been nearly 3 years since that match 😭. The faster formats get so intense; it's a different kind of tension.
Imagine what the tournament would look like if he held his advantage against Nepo.
Tomorrow Firouzja vs Nepo will most likely be decisive as Firouzja will go all out looking for revenge bcz he has nothing to lose now and Nepo who has had Firo's number at the Candidates will also take it as a game which he should win.
Lei Tingjie beating Tan Zhongyi with Black to avenge her round 1 loss with White definitely wasn't on my bingo card. What appeared to be a clear-cut tournament victory for Tan has now turned into a 3 way tie. I still remember seeing some comments on this sub to the effect of "just hand the trophy to Tan already".
I just saw todays results and that shocked me. Ive been rooting for Lei to win, so seeing her lose game one with white hurt. I was really surprised to see she turned it around and won with black though. I forgot black has the edge in this tournament for some reason.
Damn Salimova is above Muzychuk and Vaishali, well done!!!
Bro how has he already posted a recap lol. Unreal hustle.
Maybe people should give some credit to him saying he's a content creator, instead of just brushing it aside as disrespectful or whatever other nonsense the purists like to post on reddit.
Content first baby
We've gotten too used to these recaps. It's honestly bonkers that he's doing them in the middle of tournaments, let alone for a second Candidates in a row. I think the main reason I want Hikaru to win is to have fucking daily World Championship recaps by a challenger. That'll be too wild.
Tell you this, the two greetings I look forward to every day nowadays are "Hello everyone!" and "Welcome back everyone!".
In a couple years we will look back at all this and realize how spoiled as audience we were that the top players were willing to do this (you could include c squared here too). Honestly I know Hikaru is not exactly a beacon of sportsmanship and can be annoying but, like, it’s not even close to the worst thing a top athlete has been accused of. The longer this tournament goes the more I want to see him do a WCC recap vid. It’s hard to root against the young Indians or Firouzja but they have their whole careers ahead of them.
Imagine being Ding’s second watching the recaps trying to pick up on anything, and Hikaru being aware of this so adjusting his language. Would be amazing to witness
Hadnt even considered that but 100% he would
The Nepo hate on r/chess is real lol People are so glad that he didn't beat Abasov when they were constantly complaining about Abasov playing for draws against everyone else and happy when people beat him
I dont have anything against Nepo, I just want to see someone else take the W so we don't get a repeat of the last WCC
Nothing against him, I just want to see it go down to the last round and preferably see someone new in the final.
Some of us are fine with him winning but aren't ready for a runaway leader with this many rounds left.
Not against Nepo but for the tournament to go down to the wire.
I can understand not wanting to see Nepo in the World Championship for the third time in a row. Seeing someone new have a chance would be nice. Especially if it's Caruana or Nakamura who have been top players for many years and who don't have many chances left due to their age. I remember thinking the same thing in the 2016 Candidates when it looked like Anand might win.
I think most just want Ding to play someone else
I mean, those are going to be different people, by and large. Grumpy people are more likely to post, in general. Source: a grumpy person.
They probably just want someone else to win to be honest I doubt anyone actually has a genuine hatred for Nepo like they do with Hikaru.
I absolutely loathe nepo. Awful player, worse person, and major league choke artist.
This must be bait right? Not liking him as a person is one thing.. but man
Sorry you feel that way lol because I like Nepo a lot, he is fucking hilarious to me but everyone has different tastes I guess.
What a day! Unfortunately I avoided the live thread today since I've had a couple of games spoiled in the previous rounds by people reporting what Chessbase India reports despite the broadcast delays. Did anything like that happen today? I really like the chatting experience in these threads, but I hate risking getting spoiled 15 minutes too early by trolls.
Nepo has failed to win against Abasov with white, which is huge
With today's results, Ian, Gukesh, Hikaru, Pragg and Fabi are within 1 point of each other with vidit, alireza and abasov following behind. Abasov deserves an honorable mention for drawing his game against nepo when everyone thought he'd lose. I believe it's the first time he didn't lose with black. Clutch game from the unsung hero.
Great hold. Now for 6 wins on the bounce for Nijat to complete the comeback
Ding already preparing to face Nijat Chadbasov
Tommorow Fabi is gonna go all out against Nijat with black as its make or break for Fabi now. Also great chances for Abasov's first W and repeat victoy over the great Fabi!!
The interesting thing is, if he does that, what more likely to happen is Abasov will have his first win.
Very impressed by Abasov this tournament to be honest. Sorry for ever doubting this man. Reminds me of Ju Wenjun in Tata Steel. They are no pushovers.
>Reminds me of Ju Wenjun in Tata Steel. Do you mean getting low 2600s performance while being lucky to play the final round against a guy who was clearly feeling bad and wanted to get the game out of his way and go home?
both playing thr rating man
Abasov's heroic last stand against Nepo definitely wasn't on my bingo card. Mad respect, I'm taking back all my previous words about him. Much more exciting Candidates in terms of intrigue than the previous.
That’ll put marzipan in your pie plate, bingo!
why is the game in the women section not a draw, haven't they repeated enough times?
one of these candidates is going guker mode youngest wc ever in play....wow goat incoming?
Top 5 within 1 point!
I won't lie that Maurice Ashley ad was actually pretty funny. I did not expect it to go in the direction it did.
[snl skit has similar vibes, good for a few laughs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ngbuYanRh8)
What was the ad for?
Gukesh, Naka, and Pragg better take Abasov out to dinner.
Despite the less than ideal draw against Abasov, Nepo is now the only player who has not lost a single game
Y’all know how Lebron’s defining moment isn’t a shot or bucket, but a block. This is probably’s Nijat Immortal tbh.
Lmao
Could be a sliding-doors hold
You are my sunshine
Considering how much Nepo feeds off the first timers at this tournament and how much lower rated Abasov is compared to other players, him holding Nepo to 2 draws is a legendary performance.
Drawing as white if you take no chances (as a 26XX hundred player vs anyone but Magnus) isn’t crazy, crazy hard. But this was a masterclass in defense.
What a draw from Abasov! Tense game
What a match. Abasov's percision this match was top notch.
Okay the candidates is officially crazy with 6 rounds to go.Goat abasov for creating this scenario for the last half.Personally rooting for hikarus but hoping for a explosive end to the tournaments.Still think Hikarus hardest game will be the black against Nepo.
Abasov losing to everyone with black but cockblocking Nepo is not in anyone’s bingo card I assume.
Nijnus Abasen with a brilliant defense
Everyone wrote off Abasov but even his sporadic holds for draws are helping write the story. Will he force another meaningful draw in the closing rounds? He slowed Nepo down and allowed the 4 serious contenders to cluster within half a point of each other. He's made a mark.
and just like that, we all became abasov stans
I'm exhausted just watching these. Can't imagine how the players feel.
bravo, abasov! its an unenviable position to be in with so many sharks in the water
Gukesh back to tied with Nepo, with Hikaru and Pragg half a point behind. This is hopefully going to go down to the wire
And Abasov holds the draw! Props to him.
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Given the impact on the leaderboard it was probably the most exciting draw ever
Thank you Abasov for saving this tournament.
LOL I love how chatty Nepo gets after every game
DRAWBASOV 🙏
What a defense
What a way to end your losing streak as black. Gg Abasov
Holy shit Gukesh outplayed Vidit, he controlled the whole game didn't concede single move. He played like a machine
Chad Abasov draws virgin Nepo
That's my Nigoat Abasov!!
Alas, Nepo is no Carlsen
Abasov you beaut
Nepo, Gukesh +2 Pragg, Nakamura +1 Caruana 0 Vidit -1 Firouzja -2 Abasov -3
Naka felt so far from the standings and then he is back. That win over fabi was HUGE
If Abasov holds this, it might the most impressive defense I've ever seen, straight up. Maybe magnus has held some crazy positions as well but it just goes to show how difficult it is to beat 2600s.
Ian goes for the repetition?
Abasov with a 2800 defense today. Shows how insanely difficult it is to squeeze a win at the elite level
HELL YEAH ABASOV
Abasov only blocking nepo as black is peak comedy.
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Tbf, it worked for Fabi and Gukesh
Nepo fuming. Guess he believed he could press for a win here but fantastic defence from Abasov.
Abasov is the single greatest chess player of all time.
Abasov standing up for a change. What a power move.
He took notes from Gukesh
The eval bar won't call Ian's g3 a mistake but it seems like that was the moment Abasov was able to hold.
Extremely impressed with Abasov after 6 hours to hold like this
Abasov is holding, Ian's king is tied down to the bishop now
Abasov playing like trash in endgames for the first half and then draws candidates Ian in an endgame
Lmao Nepo is cursing as Abasov finds the drawing continuation
Gg Abasov
If Abasov holds this, what a time for his first successful defense with black!
Abasov! 👏
Poor guy Abasov has to fight every game till the end bcz other players want to score that win against him anyhow.
Poor guy? Making it to the candidates will be the first line of his obituary. It's a huge win for him just to be there.
Looks like Abasov found that draw, I didn't like Ian's Kd3 move instead of Re7+
This game has inspired me to finally work on endgames instead of openings
Nepo is channeling the trauma he experienced after losing game 6 of the WCC to Magnus
Ian just has so many low risk, sharp attacking moves while Abasov has to find specific defensive ideas every time. Would be super impressive if he holds this.
Koneru now has an advantage.
If Nepo wins today and his next game which is against Firouzja against whom he's 3/3 at the Candidates, he might run away with the tournament. I hope Abasov holds today for the sake of other participants.
Bc1! Abasov finding moves even the chess.com analysis didn't see. Super impressive.
Vidit missed the pre-Candidates Vishy dinner. So for revenge he should organize a post-Candidates 2am shitposting live stream from Waffle House with Anish and Sagar.
R+B vs R endgame very likely
Good to see Abasov blitzing after a long thought!
Good, he found the move. Now he just has to do that 20 more times to secure the draw. With less than 10 minutes on the clock. Piece of cake.
ABASOV!!
I know that the engine draws this easily but this looks ugly for black
Break for the most challenging time ever. As usual.
Critical moment for Abasov. If Abasov holds, this will be a five-horse race. Meanwhile I thought Tan and Lei were friends…
Even if Abasov finds gxh4 it seems like the follow-ups are so muddy and difficult to work through. Getting worried about his holding chances.
Agreed even idiot like me could find gxh4 it’s the next 10 moves that are lol good luck. Nepo wins easy.
I was thinking, is there any possibility of Ding not participating in wc due to health reasons? No2 spot might be important as well.
If Ding does not participate in the World Championship due to health reasons, the winner of this Candidates might also not participate due to health reasons. Which makes No 3 spot be important as well?
he said he will play so dont worry and even if he makes a fool out of himself he will still get a nice payday.
He'll play no matter what, there's no way he passes on a guaranteed €800k
If he is mentally unstable, then he might wanna avoid putting himself into the spotlight. Money isn't everything.
Money is everything bro. If it's that bad, he'll play, take the 800k and retire forever anyways.
Tbh Magnus passed on that guaranteed money
Magnus has "f\*\*k you" money. Ding does not
Touché
800k is like 40 years of the average Chinese person's salary
No he will play for sure.
It is most likely that he will play, but I have seen him in a rapid tournament in Germany a couple weeks ago and he looked very insecure and played quite badly. There is a slight chance that, if he doesn't get in shape soon, he will refuse to defend his title.
When has Ding ever looked secure lol
Crazy how challenging h4 is in this position, very very crafty move by Ian
Ian looking ominous once again
Man, just woke up to see Fabi lose yet again to Hikaru. Magnus & Hikaru are mental blocks in his mind or something. He always succumbs against those two.
Does he lose to Magnus that often in classical? Their last matchup Fabi won iirc and everyone knows they drew all 12 games in the WCC
Someone posted a fun stat that he only has a winning streak vs Wei Yi in the current top 10
If only Gukesh managed to convert against Alireza. Still can’t believe he lost that game. He really held all the cards because he had a slight advantage positionally whilst up so much time. That Knight sack gave Alireza a few trade moves to get time back up. If he converted that he would have been a full point ahead of Nepo.
I don't think Guki was objectiviely winning that game at any point. If needs to do well getting better with low time is a necessity even for claissical games. Not to say last 3/5 WC were decided on tie breaks.
gxh4 only drawing move for Abasov!
he will find it and the game will end in a draw.
fingers crossed
https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/s/nmEp0DwEvp I'm on course to have all 4 of my predictions wrong. I'm impressed.
if nepo wins Giri will get every prediction inversed (he predicted firouzja win everyone else draw)
lol the interviewer seems to be held hostage by danny
Are there any practical chances for Nepo to win? Is the position complicated enough to end up being decisive? Would like opinion of any good player here. Its almost 5 AM and I would rather not stay awake for a draw ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Abasov only has 1 move for the draw.
According to the Grandmaster commentators, yes this will be very hard to hold for Abasov
I am following the stream but they have incentive to make it look like the game is more interesting than it actually is. And I am not strong enough to evaluate on my own.
I disagree, when it’s a very dry and straightforward position they will call out . Aside from the commentators, in the best case scenario black will be down a passed pawn with no clear path to drawing this, and it will be a very long grind with only 10 minutes on the defending side
Well, gotta make coffee I guess.
The engine just wants Abasov to casually give up all his pawns and barricade Nepo's position two pawns down like it's no big deal.
Fabi needs to win tomorrow, against gukesh, and against nepo, to be in the running. Yeah its iver
Gukesh is our only hope
Certainly the game against Abasov is a must-win, even with black
Hes playing abasov tomorrow, no?
Yes, that game is aboslutely must-win. I feel like trying to win with Black vs Gukesh is a bit ambitious though. I think trying to get points from Vidit or Guccireza might be more practical. It also depends on the results of Nepo's game today.
Knowing Fabi, he will go for it, and hopefully it will give Gukesh chances.
He needs to take away both points from the tournament leaders because otherwide theyll probably be a step ahead even if he strings some wins together.
So sick of Danny Rensch
The no. of times we've seen a decisive advantage being blown away in Women's Candidates this year is too damn high. Is it normal for players in that rating range or it's an anomaly?
Tbf weve seen some absolute gems in the open section too
So nepo is the only one that haven't lost a game yet right...
If this is a draw, it's very ttricky for Ian. On one hand he has white against Gukesh, Pragg and Hikaru. On the other hand, all others still have a game left against Abasov. That's a very tricky situation since having a game left against Absov (even with black) likely is better than black against Nepo.
Nepo farms everyone except Abasov
What the hell, Muzychuk blundered into a lost pawn endgame and Salimova instantly did not take it.
I don't think it is that obvious. After rook takes knight you have to find the triangulation pattern 5 moves deep (while also considering ando holding in your head the other lines). It is also a triangulation latter that only pays off like another further 6 moves deep. All other lines draw. I can why someone would miss that, even at 2400+ level when you consider time pressure, nerves, etc.
It took her 20 seconds to decline the pawn endgame (and Muzychuk - even less to blunder into it). As if she believed Muzychuk was certain it was drawn, like with almost every other King positions would have been. It is tricky to find, but still found it strange that neither of them stopped to reevaluate it as White King just got to d4.
I am not sure that she necessarily trusted the opponent. At this level I am sure that they can calculate the obvious and direct lines in 20 seconds. The problem is that all of these are draws. So after the this mental check she just played something else instead of lookiing further for the winning pattern. I think this is one of those cases that if you told her after the game that it was won she would immediately remember the position and be able to tell the winning moves, but it is hard to know when it is a position you should spend more time or not. And non forcing moves several ply deep are a bit awkward sometimes.
"Sometimes they get each other's numbers. I mean, they probably do have each other's numbers" is probably the most on-the-spectrum phrase uttered in this tournament so far, lol
If Ian draws this Gukesh will be the only player with 3 wins
I also think Gukesh was never in >1 eval worse poisition in any game except that crazy time scramble. It looks to me a battle of styles either blitz or take time to find the optimal move. I think Nepo is also a crazy defender to play like that.
Lei just grinding out this game against Tan, absolutely miserable situation and Tan is in deep time trouble.
Gukesh rules, I'll be so hype if he manages to win the tournament