Chess Candidates 2024, Final Round Highlights: Gukesh clinches title as Caruana vs Nepomniachtchi ends in draw; Zhongyi wins women’s title; Pragg, Humpy, Vaishali end campaign with win

1. Tan Zhongyi (CHN) - 9.0

2. Koneru Humpy (IND) - 7.5

3. Lei Tingjie (CHN) - 7.5

4. R. Vaishali (IND) - 7.5

5. Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) - 7.0

6. Kateryna Lagno (RUS) - 6.5

7. Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) - 5.5

8. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) - 5.5

1. D Gukesh (IND) - 9.0

2. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) - 8.5

3. Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS) - 8.5

4. Fabiano Caruana (USA) - 8.0

5. R Praggnanandhaa (IND) - 7.0

6. Vidit Gujrathi (IND) - 6.0

7. Alireza Firouzja (FRA) - 5.0

8. Nijat Abasov (AZE) - 3.5

Open

Hikaru Nakamura ½-½ Gukesh D 

Alireza Firouzja ½-½ Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 

Nijat Abasov 0-1 Praggnanandhaa R 

Fabiano Caruana - Ian Nepomniachtchi 

Women’s

Kateryna Lagno 0-1 Vaishali Rameshbabu 

Lei Tingjie - Humpy Koneru 

Anna Muzychuk ½-½ Tan Zhongyi 

Aleksandra Goryachkina ½-½ Nurgyul Salimova

The game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana ended in a draw even after the tremendous fighting spirit shown by both players as Gukesh became the youngest Candidates winner! Would you believe it?

GUKESH IS THE CANDIDATES WINNER!!!!!!!

The position in the Nepo vs Caruana game has equalised for the nth time. Gukesh’s chances have bolstered, yet again.

Caruana is grinding out Nepomniachtchi in a very complex endgame. Both players are not playing with great accuracy as the engine just keeps on changing. 

Tingjie folds, Humpy wins! What a day for the Indians. Three wins and two draws. 

Praggnanandhaa ends his Candidates 2024 campaign with a win. He beat Nijat Abasov to finish with 7 points. 

Hikaru stops the clock, offers a handshake after both players exchange everything. Heartbreaking for the American but Gukesh confirms himself a tie-break spot. 

Humpy is a rook up against Tingjie and she will be able to convert her position to a win. 

Oh god, the Nepo-Caruana game has taken another turn with the Russian making another mistake to give Caruana another winning chance. This means the tournament will head to tiebreak tomorrow. 

Gukesh is just moments away from drawing his game against Nakamura. 

Now, even Praggnanandhaa is winning his game. Nijat Abasov has played with a 90.7 accuracy while the Indian has an accuracy of 95.4. 

The Caruana-Nepomniachtchi game has become very equal. The Russian should feel confident of holding this position. 

Vaishali beats Kateryna Lagno to grab her fifth win in a row! Would you believe it! What a turnaround for her to win five games back to back after losing four in a row. Incredible stuff. 

Nepomniachtchi finds the best move -- queen to c2 and this is big news for Gukesh as a draw for the Indian would suffice to win him a title provided Nepo holds Caruana. 

No no no... Caruana makes a mistake on his 41st move! It’s an equal position now as all of his edge has fizzled out. 

Caruana has 34 seconds to play his 40th move. 

Caruana will have to make three more moves with just 93 seconds on the board to reach the 40th move. Mind you, 30 additional minutes with a 30-second increment per move will only be activated after the move no. 40. 

We’re in a rook-bishop endgame in the Gukesh vs Nakamura game. There is nothing that can fetch a win for the American. 

Lei Tingjie’s queen sacrifice did not work in her favour as Humpy is now in a completely winning position now. 

Vaishali is winning her game against Kateryna Lagno after the latter made a few blunders towards the end. 

It’s a solid position in the Gukesh-Nakamura board. Both players have exchanged rooks and it’s heading to a draw. 

Big news coming in! Tan Zhongyi draws her game with Anna Muzychuk to book a world championship match with Ju Wenjun. 

Nepomniachtchi made an inaccuracy and Caruana is just completely winning in this position. 

Caruana plays bishop f5 check, forcing Nepo to move his king inside before playing another top engine move. The American is just relentless here. 

Gukesh trades queens as the position has simplified and equalised for both players. 

Caruana played the best move d5 in the position and he is so focused on beating Nepomniachtchi in a must-win game. 

It looks like Tan Zhongyi would not take much time to convert her favourable position against Anna Muzhychuk. It’s just about time now. 

Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa is holding Nijat Abasov with black pieces with ease. 

The second brilliancy has been played in the game between Vaishali vs Lagno game and this time it’s Vaishali with black. 

Lei Tingjie sacks her queen to gain tempo in the queenside as she is in desperate need of a full point here if she wants to match Tan Zhongyi. 

Gukesh has a 15-minute time advantage with a consolidated position against Nakamura. This looks good for the second-youngest Candidate ever. 

Gukesh continues his innovative touch as he goes Bishop to b7 attacking the white knight. Hikaru Nakamura takes his time. His clock has dipped under the one-hour mark. 

Hikaru Nakamura is taking his time with his 12th move. He finally goes knight to e4 to evade from the attacking black pawn. The eval bar slightly favours Gukesh at this point. 

Tan Zhongyi is closing in on a win against Muzychuk and is on the verge of securing the title win.

First real mistake from Caruana as he goes Knight to f3, giving Nepo a chance to make an easy trade. The Russian will look to make this advantage count. 

For the first time this game, the eval bar has come down to a perfect balance. 0.00. 

Not the cleanest of starts from both Gukesh and Nakamura. The move accuracy is under 97.5 for both already. Gukesh and Nakamura soon castle to their short sides. 

Tan Zhongyi, who just needs a draw to seal the top spot, is off to a steady start against Anna Muzychuk. 

11 moves each already in Nepomniachtchi vs Caruana. Both players have to win today to have a shot at winning the tournament. 

And we have the quickest result of the tournament. Vidit Gujrathi and Alireza blitz 14 moves each and with a three-fold repetition the game ends in a draw. 

Quickfire start as Hikaru Nakamura and D Gukesh race through the opening five moves. A queen trade seems to be on the cards. 

The decisive Round 14 begins. 

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FIDE Chess Candidates 2024: Tiebreak rules, stage, format, time

FIDE Candidates 2024: Here are all the tiebreak rules, stage, format and time for the Candidates chess tournament.

So if you don’t know, there is a 15-minute delay in all the official broadcasts of the games to ensure anti-cheating measures. The live board will be activated at 12:15 IST

1. Tan Zhongyi (CHN) - 8.5

2. Lei Tingjie (CHN) - 7.5

3. Koneru Humpy (IND) - 6.5

4. Kateryna Lagno (RUS) - 6.5

5. Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) - 6.5

6. R. Vaishali (IND) - 6.5

7. Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) - 5.0

8. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) - 5.0

1. D Gukesh (IND) - 8.5

2. Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS) - 8.0

3. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) - 8.0

4. Fabiano Caruana (USA) - 8.0

5. R Praggnanandhaa (IND) - 6.0

6. Vidit Gujrathi (IND) - 5.5

7. Alireza Firouzja (FRA) - 4.5

8. Nijat Abasov (AZE) - 3.5

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FIDE Candidates 2024, Round 13: Gukesh foxes Firouzja to take sole lead; Caruana joins Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura in the second place

D. Gukesh became the sole leader in the FIDE Candidates 2024 ahead of the final round after dislodging Ian Nepomniachtchi from the leader’s pedestal for the first time.

Open

Hikaru Nakamura - Gukesh D 

Alireza Firouzja - Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 

Nijat Abasov - Praggnanandhaa R 

Fabiano Caruana - Ian Nepomniachtchi

Women’s

Kateryna Lagno - Vaishali Rameshbabu 

Lei Tingjie - Humpy Koneru 

Anna Muzychuk - Tan Zhongyi 

Aleksandra Goryachkina - Nurgyul Salimova

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How can India’s D Gukesh win FIDE Candidates 2024 and qualify for World Championship Final?

India’s D Gukesh heads into the final round of the FIDE Candidates tournament on Monday with a golden chance to become the youngest winner of the competition.

Where to watch the live stream of the Candidates 2024 chess?

The live streaming of the Candidates 2024 will be available on the FIDE YouTube channel.

Which TV channel will broadcast the Candidates 2024 chess?

There has been no official announcement for the broadcasting of the Candidates 2024 in India.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the 14th round of the FIDE Candidates Chess 2024 tournament, happening in Toronto on Monday. Stay tuned as we bring you all the live updates.