FIDE Candidates is Halfway Through

Ian Nepomniachtchi has taken then lead into a rest day.

Round 7 of the FIDE Candidates finished in Toronto. 

The game Nakamura vs. Nepomniachtchi turned into a real action movie. The opponents opened the game with the Petrov Defence, which saw a complex forced variation with Black giving up a pawn and an exchange for White's poor development and the exposed king. However, judging by the time invested, the American Grandmaster was well prepared for such a turn of events. Perhaps, Nakamura did not act in the most precise manner, allowing Nepomniachtchi to carry out a beautiful tactical operation, as a result of which the Russian was left with a queen for two minor pieces and a rook. Despite this unusual material ratio, Black soon achieved a draw by delivering endless checks to the exposed white king.

Alireza Firouzja won with the white pieces against one of the tournament leaders – Gukesh: being in severe time pressure, the Indian chess player made a mistake and ended up in a mating net.

The games Caruana vs Praggnanandhaa and Abasov vs. Vidit ended in a draw.

Standings after Round 7:

1. Ian Nepomniachtchi – 4.5
2-4. Fabiano Caruana, Dommaraju Gukesh, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa – 4
5-6. Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Hikaru Nakamura – 3.5 
7. Alireza Firouzja – 2.5 
8. Nijat Abasov – 2.

Round 8 pairings

Nakamura – Caruana
Nepomniachtchi – Abasov
Praggnanandhaa – Firouzja
Vidit – Gukesh

The key women's match of Round 7, Goryachkina vs. Tan Zhongyi, was a quiet positional game. Black's problemme for some time was the hanging pawns in the centre, but at one point White captured one of them and went for simplifications. The Chinese soon regained the material, and the endgame was equal. A draw was agreed immediately after the time control move.

Kateryna Lagno and Nurgyul Salimova opened the game with the Cozio Defence of the Ruy Lopez, in which the queens and most of the minor pieces were exchanged quite early. White gained a pawn, but Black's active pieces and the bishop's superiority over the knight in an open position were enough for Salimova to maintain the dynamic balance. After exchanging minor pieces and a pair of rooks, the game transposed into a rook ending with White having an extra pawn. A draw was agreed on move 41. 

Lei Tingjie defeated Rameshbabu Vaishali with the white pieces, and Anna Muzychuk vs Humpy Koneru was a draw.

Standings after Round 7:

1. Tan Zhongyi – 5
2. Aleksandra Goryachkina – 4.5 
3-4. Kateryna Lagno, Lei Tingjie – 4
5. Nurgyul Salimova – 3
6-8. Rameshbabu Vaishali, Humpy Koneru, Anna Muzychuk – 2.5. 

Round 8 pairings:

Lagno – Goryachkina
Salimova – A. Muzychuk
Tan Zhongyi – Lei Tingjie
Koneru – Vaishali

Friday, April 12, is a scheduled rest day at the tournament. 

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