FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022 – R11 preview

Ian Nepomniachtchi increased his sole lead in the FIDE Candidates Tournament by another half a point after yesterday’s bloody day in Madrid. The race for the second place becomes widely open and more interesting to follow, especially as Magnus Carlsen seriously considers to withdraw from the World Championship Match. Read more: FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022 R10 recap

Round 11 pairings:
Hikaru Nakamura – Richard Rapport
Alireza Firouzja – Ian Nepomniachtchi
Teimour Radjabov – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Fabiano Caruana – Ding Liren

Hikaru Nakamura – Richard Rapport, R11 Candidates Chess 2022

Hikaru Nakamura yesterday scored a beautiful victory against Alireza Firouzja after creating a mating net around Firouzja’s unsecured king. Today he meets with Richard Rapport who suffered a heartbreaking loss to Ding Liren in a thrilling game full of creative moves on both sides. Nakamura is in the race for the highly wanted second place, while Rapport searches for a big comeback. Their R4 fight was quickly transposed into an interesting endgame, and eventually ended in a draw.

Replay the game – Richard Rapport – Hikaru Nakamura 1/2-1/2, R4 Candidates Chess 2022

Alireza Firouzja – Ian Nepomniachtchi, R11 Candidates Chess 2022

19-year-old Alireza Firouzja couldn’t escape yesterday from Nakamura’s attack and today faces the sole leader – Ian Nepomniachtchi. Nepo is safe on the top with a 1.5 points advantage over the tiers for the second place, and might be looking for a calm drawish line. Their Round 4 game saw a sharp Najdorf transforming to a tremendous and undefendable mating attack, but Firouzja today takes White pieces.

Replay the game – Ian Nepomniachtchi – Alireza Firouzja 1-0, R4 Candidates Chess 2022

Teimour Radjabov – Jan-Krzysztof Duda, R11 Candidates Chess 2022

After scoring the first victory in almost three years, Teimour Radjabov had a solid game yesterday with Nepo, without facing much danger. On the other hand, Jan-Krzysztof Duda was the one to steal the show of yesterday’s R10 as he scored his first Candidates victory. Their fourth-round game finished in a draw as Duda missed chances for a clearly better position, and today the latter has Black pieces.
Read more: Duda steals the show – FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022 R10 recap

Replay the game – Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Teimour Radjabov 1/2-1/2, R4 Candidates Chess 2022

Fabiano Caruana – Ding Liren, R11 Candidates Chess 2022

The two players who were considered to be the favorites to win the Candidates Tournament 2022 this year celebrate the 20th anniversary of their chess battles. Fabiano Caruana was pushing too hard to catch Nepomniachtchi, and eventually lost the control. Ding Liren needed some time to show his best and, with two consecutive victories, he’s now storming to the top. The R4 match between the opponents was finished in a peaceful manner as Fabi successfully defended the pawn down endgame.
Read more: Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana celebrate 20 years of chess battles

Replay the game – Ding Liren – Fabiano Caruana 1/2-1/2, R4 Candidates Chess 2022