Ian Nepomniachtchi Takes the Lead in FIDE Candidates Tournament
The Russian player defeated Wang Hao in round five.<br />
The capital city of the Urals has staged round five games of the FIDE Candidates today.
The Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi has defeated Wang Hao in what proved the only decisive game of the round to grab a sole lead in the race. Giri – Caruana, Grischuk – Ding Liren, and Alekseenko – Vachier-Lagrave ended in a draw.
Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) – Wang Hao (China) 1-0
Wang Hao's Petroff Defense was met by Nepomniachtchi's line with a symmetrical pawn structure and attempts to develop the kingside initiative. However, numerous exchanges transposed into an approximately equal position with queens and knights still on the board. The Russian was meticulous in his attempts to shatter the opponent’s defenses in every possible way, and the opportunity presented itself on move 32, when Wang Hao committed a blunder by missing the opponent’s strong idea with a temporary pawn sacrifice. The tactical sequence forced Black to give up a minor piece. The Chinese GM did not feel like testing his opponent's conversion technique and resigned on move 43.
Ian Nepomniachtchi, "It's not leading after the last round, so it's just nothing. Of course, it's very good to win a game with white. Today my preparation was more successful than in previous “white” games.
Anish Giri (Netherlands) – Fabiano Caruana (USA) 1/2-1/2
The game opened with a double-edged line of the Slav defense, in which White castled long and the black king remained in the center. Giri started the kingside play, and instead of launching similar actions at the opposite side of the board, Caruana drew the fire upon himself by pushing the g-pawn, which only played into his opponent's hands. As the g-file opened, White launched an offensive in the center, while Black’s attempt to destabilize the queenside seemed insufficient a couple of moves later. Giri had a clear advantage, but could not get the most out of his position. Caruana defended ingeniously, while Giri passed by the strongest continuations on a couple of occasions. The game became level closer to the time control move. After move 40, the opponents repeated the position three times. The game ended in a draw on move 42.
Anish Giri, “I think I had a very pleasant position. I was choosing between various options. Fabiano was fighting well, and I had chances for more. I cannot say I saw a win or something like that, but there were definitely had more promising options there. I think it was a good game until this one moment.”
Caruana said he was not really happy with his position. “I was a bit surprised when Anish decided to play the Qc2 line. Although I knew something about it, I did not remember exactly how I was supposed to play. I was improvising with some moves, but it did not really work out. I am happy to have survived in the complications that followed.”
Alexander Grischuk (Russia) – Ding Liren (China) 1/2-1/2
In the most tranquil game of the round, Alexander Grischuk and Ding Liren followed in the footsteps the anti-Marshall line already encountered in the correspondence games up until move 22. The game saw a lot of simplifications by move 30. Formally, the minimum advantage was with White, but it was not hard for Black to defend his only weakness, and a draw was agreed on move 54.
Alexander Grischuk, “It think it was a very good game, but not a very interesting one. Ding Liren defended well and found the best way to equalize. In his turn, the Chinese GM highlighted that he had to go into the defensive since the game did not proceed to his preparation.
Kirill Alekseenko (Russia) – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) 1/2-1/2
In response to 1.e4, the French GM resorted to his favorite Sicilian Najdorf. Up a certain moment, the game followed in the footsteps of Carlsen - Vachier-Lagrave of 2019; however, on move 16 the Frenchman uncorked a new continuation, allowing the white rook to capture the g6-pawn. Alekseenko accepted the challenge, although he had to figure out the complications over the board that his opponent had analyzed at home. It was one of the most interesting games involving sacrifices, checks and counterattacks, in which both grandmasters acted to the best of their abilities. Vachier-Lagrave was the last to land a tactical blow, a rook sacrifice, and the game ended in a draw by threefold repetitions shortly after.
After the game, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave said that his files showed that the game complications were leading to a draw. In general, the Frenchman highlighted that he was pleased both with his form and play. “However, this is only the start of the tournament in which only the first place matters. So, the worse is yet to come,” he added.
Kirill Alekseenko, “I feel better than in the first rounds. Maybe this is the first normal game without big mistakes. I am sure it is getting better.”
Standings after Round 5:
1. Ian Nepomniachtchi – 3.5;
2. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – 3;
3-5. Fabiano Caruana, Wang Hao, Alexander Grischuk – 2.5;
6-8. Ding Liren, Kirill Alekseenko, Anish Giri – 2;
Pairings of Round 6:
Alexander Grischuk (Russia) – Fabiano Caruana (USA)
Kirill Alekseenko (Russia) – Anish Giri (Netherlands)
Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) – Ding Liren (China)
Wang Hao (China) – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)
The organizers of the FIDE Candidates Tournament are the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the Chess Federation of Russia (CFR) as well as the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region and the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region.
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