Kasparov on the Candidates

His commentary during round 12 on Nepomniachtchi, Firouzja, Caruana and more. Come for the chess, stay for the travel suggestions.

Round 9 of the 2022 Candidates: Nepomniachtchi Escapes; The Peleton Awakens

(Originally published on my Substack blog. Please subscribe!)

It’s almost certainly too late for the chase pack in the 2022 Candidates tournament to make a real run at the title, but it’s nice to see that their slumber has finally come to an end. (See my comments about a “fresh start” in the round 8 post.) Going into round 9, four players had yet to win a game; now, only one.

We’ll get to that in a moment, but first: the Big Game. Fabiano Caruana had excellent chances to defeat Ian Nepomniachtchi in their game from the first cycle, but didn’t see or underestimated a critical idea at the end of the game and allowed a draw by repetition. Today, a point behind Nepo and needing a win, his excellent preparation gave him another shot at a full point. Caruana was highly critical of Richard Rapport’s opening disaster against Nepomniachtchi’s Petroff in round 7, and he showed the chess world how it’s supposed to be done. His 11.Nh4 was a very nice (almost) novelty, and while Nepo’s initial reaction was excellent he erred on move 17 and 18. The critical moment came on move 24; it’s White (Caruana) to move:

Happy solving! Suffice it to say that Caruana played the second best move, which allowed Nepo to scamper away to safety and an easy draw. Working out the details of the best move wasn’t easy (if it were, Caruana would have done it), but had he done so he’d have been winning, or near enough to winning to be a big favorite to reel in the point.

That was great news for Nepomniachtchi, and more was to come. Hikaru Nakamura could have joined Caruana in second with a win; instead, he lost to Teimour Radjabov, who had been winless up to that point. Perhaps Nakamura was in the wrong state of mind after his epic win over Caruana in the previous round, as he committed a serious misjudgment early on. His 12th and 13th moves baited Radjabov into grabbing a queenside pawn at the expense of kingside safety, but it turned out that Radjabov’s king was fine. As for the queenside pawn? That won the game. It was a surprisingly easy victory for Radjabov, who is back to -1, while Nakamura fell back to 50%, two points behind Nepo.

Richard Rapport’s first win came in round 8, but like Nakamura he was unable to build on it but instead took a step back. He was conquered by Alireza Firouzja, who exited the opening with a huge advantage and a massive attack. He made a couple of mistakes along the way, but Rapport did too, and the result was a very one-sided win for the young Frenchman. It was his first win of the tournament.

Ding Liren also winning for the first time in the tournament, grinding down Jan-Krzysztof Duda in a long game. The game looked (and was) very drawish for most of the first time control, but just before move 40 the position became more complex. Probably short of time, Duda made a major error on move 40, and while proving the win afterwards wasn’t so easy the world’s #2 was up to the challenge and got back to 50%. (The games, with my comments, are here.)

Now that the action is heating up…it’s time for a rest day. When play resumes on Wednesday, we’ll see these pairings for round 10:

Rapport (4) - Ding (4.5)

Duda (3) - Caruana (5.5)

Nepomniachtchi (6.5) - Radjabov (4)

Nakamura (4.5) - Firouzja (4)

Round 7 of the 2022 Candidates: Nepomniachtchi and Caruana Win Again

(Originally published on my Substack blog. Please subscribe!)

Maybe they should send the other six players home, and decide the Candidates with a match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana? A six-game match would do the trick, giving Nepo draw odds as an appropriate reward for his half-point lead at this stage.

Of course that’s not going to happen, but barring a stunning collapse or a comeback for the ages, Magnus Carlsen will play (or not play, if he decides to abdicate) a second match against one of his last two world championship opponents. Nepomniachtchi crushed Richard Rapport on the black side of a Petroff, while Caruana ground down Teimour Radjabov in a long, hard battle. Nepo thus finished the first cycle with a crazy +4 score, scoring 5.5 out of 7. Caruana is just half a point behind with a +3 score; in fact, their results were identical in every round except for round 4. Still, it could have been Caruana with 5.5 and Nepo with 5, had Caruana played …Rxb2 on move 30 or move 32 of their game in round 2.

Caruana had interesting comments on both games. About his own game, he said this: “It was the most difficult game I’ve played in a long time.” And about Nepo’s game, he got a bit spicy (especially by his standards): "I felt kind of sick to be honest. It's one of the most shocking games I've seen from a top player in a long time." Mark Crowther, in his TWIC comments on the round, noted Caruana’s explanation “that the line has been known for a decade and that if you get there as white you need to take the draw.” (Quoting Crowther, not Caruana.)

You can replay those games, along with the drawn games between Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Hikaru Nakamura and between Ding Liren and Alireza Firouzja, here. Incredibly, five players are winless, including the top two seeds (Ding & Firouzja). Only Nakamura has managed to tread water, losing to Caruana in round 1 and bouncing back with a win over Rajdabov in round 2. He’ll have his chance for revenge tomorrow. Speaking of which, here are the pairings for tomorrow’s/today’s/Saturday’s round 8, the first round of the second cycle:

Rapport (3) - Duda (3)

Nepomniachtchi (5.5) - Ding (3)

Nakamura (3.5) - Caruana (5)

Firouzja (2.5) - Radjabov (2.5)

This will be a massively important for the leaders and their opponents, and in the next round Caruana will have the white pieces against Nepomniachtchi. Let’s hope the next two rounds live up to their potential.

Round 6 of the 2022 Candidates: Nepomniachtchi and Caruana Distance Themselves From the Field

(Originally published on my Substack blog. Please subscribe!)

There are still eight rounds left in the 2022 Candidates, but unless the chase pack, er, starts chasing - and soon - it will be a two-main race between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana, both of whom won today. For Nepo it was his third win in six games, this time at Jan-Krzysztof Duda’s expense; while Caruana won his second game, against Alireza Firouzja. (Firouzja is now alone in last place. Everyone else’s chess fans should enjoy it [non-maliciously] while they can, because once he has a little more experience he may be unstoppable by anyone but Magnus Carlsen.)

For Nepo, much of the credit goes to a clever opening choice. He played the Reti, and Duda chose a common line that hasn’t fared especially well, and that he didn’t seem to grasp in his fingertips. Nepo’s advantage rapidly grew, and while he had a stumble or two near the end, it wasn’t easy for Duda to exploit the errors - and he didn’t. The Russian FIDE player finished convincingly, and is leading the tournament heading into the second rest day. (Fun fact: he also leapfrogged Firouzja into fourth place on the live rating list.)

Caruana remains half a point behind and is for now the only player who seems to be awake, other than Nepo. Firouzja tried to make something happen in a position where nothing was happening nor should be happening, first with the dubious 15.e4?! and then with 20.Rxd7, which was either a blunder (missing 21…f5 22.Bxf5 Qe8) or a fatal misjudgment. Caruana’s technique was terrific, and his mature handling of the game was the counterpoint to Firouzja’s misjudgments. (Again, this won’t last for long, and soon the 19-year-old will be an almost unstoppable wrecking ball in the chess world.)

Hikaru Nakamura is the only player besides Nepo and Caruana to have won a game in this tournament, and he has come close in other games, too. With White against Ding Liren (mired at -1) he demonstrated some deep preparation, and was well over an hour ahead on the clock after 26 moves. But Ding played just about perfectly, and Nakamura started burning loads of time himself, most notably on move 30, which cost him 50(!) minutes. Despite his best efforts to cause Ding problems, the tournament’s top seed defended excellently, and a near-perfect game by both players finished in a repetition just after the time control.

Finally, Teimour Radjabov and Richard Rapport played a wild game that also finished in a draw. Despite the great complications, TR and RR played nearly perfectly until just before the time control, and…somewhat less than perfectly at that point. Rapport’s 36…Rg4? got him into trouble, while 37…Rxh4+?? should have lost the game. Surprisingly, with several minutes left to mate two moves, Radjabov missed 39.Bh2, which wins on the spot, instead forcing a draw with 39.Rf7?? A frustrating end for Radjabov, while Rapport somehow remains at 50% after five draws, even though he seems to be winning or losing at some point in every game. (To recap: Lost by move 10 against Duda in round 1, winning against Firouzja in round 2, completely lost against Ding in round 3, a normal draw with Nakamura in round 4, good winning chances though not clearly winning against Caruana in round 5, and lost today against Radjabov. -1 or -2 would have been about right, so he should feel optimistic about his chances given his even score.)

As noted already, the players have Friday off before round 7 on Saturday brings the first cycle to a close, after which the players try it again with colors reversed. Here are the round 7 pairings:

Rapport (3) - Nepomniachtchi (4.5)

Duda (2.5) - Nakamura (3)

Ding (2.5) - Firouzja (2)

Caruana (4) - Radjabov (2.5)

Radjabov has been playing better the last several rounds, but this is still a game where Caruana will be looking for the full point. And for Nepo, danger, especially as he lost in the same situation in the previous Candidates. We’ll see how well he has learned to moderate risk in this battle of two volatile, fighting players. In the meantime, here are today’s games, with my notes.

Round 1 of the 2022 Candidates Tournament: Wins for Nepomniachtchi and Caruana

(Originally posted here, yesterday. Please subscribe to my Substack blog, where my posts will be published first.)

Round 1 of the 2022 Candidates lived up to the spectators’ hopes. All four games were exciting, two finished with a winner, and all four could have been decisive. Moreover, there was a significant upset, the openings were exciting - really, there was a bit of everything today.

The first game to finish was between the co-favorite (with Fabiano Caruana), Ding Liren, against the winner of the last Candidates tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi. While I didn’t expect Nepo to win the event (and it’s a still long ways off, though if he wins tomorrow he’ll already be the favorite) I did warn that he probably had a big stock of opening ideas from his preparation for the match with Magnus Carlsen. Ding played the English, and Nepo chose a very aggressive line in reply. Ding seemed uncertain and inadequately prepared for the variation, and his passivity in the face of Nepo’s attack soon proved fatal. As Caruana put it afterward, Ding was blown off the board.

That game finished in just 32 moves; the other games all lasted well into the second time control. The second game to finish was the other decisive affair, the all-American battle between Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. Caruana obtained an advantage from the opening, but let it slip. The critical moment came on move 21, when Caruana played 21.b3 to scare Nakamura away from castling by hand to the queenside. He should have done so anyway, but instead played 21…0-0?, allowing White to enjoy good attacking chances until forever against Black’s exposed king. Both sides made inaccuracies from time to time, but Black’s chronic king problems eventually proved his undoing.

The other games were long, exciting, and will leave the white players with some regrets. Jan-Krzysztof Duda surprised Richard Rapport in the opening, and when Rapport played the awful 8…g6? he was already practically lost after 9.c5! (and unquestionably lost after 12.0-0). Over the next 20-25 moves or so Duda would give away his advantage, a bit at a time, only to get a fresh opportunity to play for a win (and achieve it with good play). His last big chance was missed on move 33, and while Rapport still had to defend for another 36 moves, Duda never got another chance to play for a win.

Finally, the battle between the oldest player, Teimour Radjabov, and the youngest player, Alireza Firouzja, was full of action in the first time control. With Black, Firouzja chose a strategically risky line, and then on move 18 essayed a very interesting exchange sac. Radjabov found a great response, offering a pawn and then the exchange back in pursuit of a kingside attack, and when Firouzja erred on move 25 Radjabov obtained serious chances to play for a win. Firouzja recovered well, and when Radjabov’s 31st move let most of the advantage slip. He managed to reach a pawn-up rook ending, but holding it was child’s play for Firouzja, and the game was drawn after 71 moves.

(All four games, with my analysis, are here.)

Here’s what we have to look forward to tomorrow (Saturday) in round 2:

Rapport (.5) - Firouzja (.5)
Nakamura (0) - Radjabov (.5)
Nepomniachtchi (1) - Caruana (1)
Duda (.5) - Ding (0)

An Interview with Caruana

A wide-ranging discussion on the eve of the Candidates.

(Originally posted here. Please subscribe at my Substack blog, where my posts will be published first.)

Have a look, here.

Superbet Rapid & Blitz: Caruana Goes 8/9 on Day 1 of the Blitz; Anand Still Leads Overall

With one exception, the players who finished in the top six of the rapid of the Superbet Rapid & Blitz were in the top six of today's blitz, the first of a double-round robin. But within that top six, the order was topsy turvy, far closer to the reverse than a repetition of the original order. To refresh your memory, here was the top six after the rapid:

1. Anand 14 (of 18)
2. Rapport 13
3. Duda 12
4. So 11
5. Aronian 10
6. Caruana 9

And here are the scores from the first blitz round-robin:

1. Caruana 8(!!) out of 9
2. Aronian 7
3. Duda 5.5
4-5. Anand, So 5
6. Wojtaszek 4.5
7-8. Gavrilescu, Rapport 3.5
9. Shevchenko 2.5
10. Korobov 1

Here then are the overall standings for the top six:

1. Anand 19
2. Duda 17.5
3-4. Caruana, Aronian 17
5. Rapport 16.5
6. So 16

It was a great performance by both Caruana and Aronian - so good, in fact, that they are now in third and second on the blitz rating list, just ahead of Magnus Carlsen and only behind Hikaru Nakamura.

On the previous days, I looked through all of the games, but was otherwise occupied today. Readers, if any games especially caught your attention, please mention the game(s) in the comments - thanks!

Superbet Chess Classic, Round 5: The Triumph of the Status Quo

There was one victory today in the Superbet Chess Classic, with Fabiano Caruana defeating Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on the white side of a Petroff in a battle between players sharing last place, but the other four games were drawn, mostly uneventfully.

Entering the round Wesley So was in clear first, half a point ahead of Levon Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Bogdan-Daniel Deac. So achieved a very comfortable draw on the black side of a Symmetrical English against Levon Aronian, and Vachier-Lagrave also had a very easy time with the Black pieces against Ian Nepomniachtchi. In fact MVL was even pressing a little at one point, but after missing the chance to play 27...h5 Nepo was able to hunker down and save the game. Deac, however, had a crazy game against Alireza Firouzja. First he was much better, maybe even winning, but then in time trouble he blundered and was lost. Time trouble did its damage to Firouzja as well, and he squandered his winning chances in the last few moves of the time control - and on move 41 as well - to allow Deac to escape.

The last game - like Caruana-Mamedyarov a battle of tailenders - hit its high point on move 2. Richard Rapport essayed 1.e4 e5 2.Ne2!? It was good for a smile, but not an advantage, and Leinier Dominguez had little difficulty achieving equality and a draw. (All five games, with my comments, are here.)

The players have a rest day tomorrow, and on round 6 the following games will take place:

• Mamedyarov (1.5) - Firouzja (2)
• Dominguez (2) - Deac (3)
• So (3.5) - Rapport (2)
• Vachier-Lagrave (3) - Aronian (3)
• Caruana (2.5) - Nepomniachtchi (2.5)

Abdusattorov Wins World Rapid Championship in Playoff vs. Nepomniachtchi **UPDATED**

A gigantic follow-up post on the event will show up later today or tomorrow, but for now, the basic results: 17-year-old Uzbek GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the 2021 World Rapid Championship in a blitz playoff over Ian Nepomniachtchi, who is now the runner-up of two world championship contests. The event finished in a four-way tie between those players, Magnus Carlsen, and Fabiano Caruana, but the two cars weren't fast enough to make it to the playoff, which was unfortunately limited to the two players with the best tiebreak scores. (A dumb rule, to be sure.)

It was an insanely great performance by Abdusattorov, who defeated, among others, Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, and Boris Gelfand along the way. I think some of us might half-seriously consider retiring after such a performance, as it's almost impossible to top such an achievement. Of course this isn't going to happen. Indeed, I assume he will play tomorrow, when the World Blitz Championship gets underway.

It was a great event for Nepo as well, who was the only player - at least the only one of the winners - to get through the entire event (not counting the playoff) undefeated. (Abdusattorov lost to Anton Korobov in round 6.) He was rarely in trouble, either, while Abdusattorov was living on the edge in several rounds. He deserved his place in the final, but Abdusattorov was clearly doing the pushing in the playoff and deserved to win it.

Carlsen had a terrific start with 6/7, and if he had played for the draw in his round 10 game with Abdusattorov instead of unwarrantedly playing for a win in the endgame, he might have won the event. Even at the end he was close, pressing hard against Hikaru Nakamura in a pawn-up rook ending in the final round. He he won the game, he'd have won the tournament.

As for Caruana, his round 3 loss to Abdusattorov left him playing catch-up, which in turn meant that his tiebreak scores were always going to be a problem. It's possible that he didn't realize that tiebreaks were a factor, as he drew with Nepo in the last round, with White, in just six moves. Folks, you've GOT to know the rules, and Caruana's shocking ignorance (or that of his second or seconds, if any, if he put them in charge of telling him such things) cost him not only a chance for first but even a place on the podium.

Full results here.

**UPDATE** The first sentence proved false: Trying to get everything done while on vacation and trying to keep up with the blitz proved a bit too much. The large post is still in the works and I intend to see it through, but further patience will be required, unfortunately.

Speed Chess Championship: So vs. Caruana

The quarterfinals are finished, now that Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana have just completed their match. It was a drubbing, with So winning 17.5-9.5; he will now take on Nihal Sarin in one semi-final, and Hikaru Nakamura will face Ding Liren in the other. One semi will take place on December 13, the other on December 16.

The sideshow is over for now; back to the World Championship tomorrow.