Ian Nepomniachtchi Takes Sole Lead at FIDE Candidates
The first rest day is ahead.
In Round 4 of the FIDE Candidates Tournament in Toronto, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi gradually transposed to the endgame arising from the Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez. Playing Black, the Indian chess player seemed to have achieved a dynamic equilibrium, but at one moment he should have launched his queenside counterplay earlier. As a result, he found himself with his rook trapped on the b3-square, while the Russian managed to break through on the opposite side of the board. With his clock time melting down, Vidit committed mistakes and his pieces could no longer keep his opponent's central passer at bay. His second victory as White has propelled Ian Nepomniachtchi to the sole tournament leader.
The games Nakamura – Praggnanandhaa, Caruana – Gukesh and Abasov – Firouzja were drawn.
Standings after Round 4:
1. Ian Nepomniachtchi – 3 points
2-3. Fabiano Caruana, Dommaraju Gukesh – 2.5
4. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa – 2
5-8. Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Hikaru Nakamura, Nijat Abasov, Alireza Firouzja – 1.5 points.
Round 5 pairings:
Firouzja – Nakamura
Gukesh – Abasov
Vidit – Caruana
Praggnanandhaa – Nepomniachtchi
The women's tournament round was extremely dramatic. Playing White, Kateryna Lagno was on the verge of defeating the race leader Tan Zhongyi, but the Chinese defended very stubbornly and tenaciously, taking advantage of her opponent's slightest inaccuracies. As a result, the former World Champion managed to save her hopeless position thus keeping her leading position.
Aleksandra Goryachkina vs Rameshbabu Vaishali was a fairly calm draw. Nurgyul Salimova defeated Humpy Koner as White. Anna Muzychuk outplayed Lei Tingjie in the rook ending but made a mistake and missed the win. The Chinese made the most of her only chance to draw the longest game of the round.
Standings after Round 4:
1. Tan Zhongyi – 3 points
2. Aleksandra Goryachkina – 2.5
3-5. Kateryna Lagno, Nurgyul Salimova, Rameshbabu Vaishali – 2
6-8. Lei Tingjie, Humpu Koneru, A. Muzychuk – 1.5.
Round 5 pairings:
Lei Tingjie – Lagno
Vaishali – Muzychuk
Koneru – Goryachkina
Tan Zhongyi – Salimova
Monday, April 8, is a scheduled rest day at the tournament.
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