Russian Players Start Fide Candidates with Draws

Round 1 was played in Toronto.

The FIDE Candidates Tournaments have begun in Toronto, Canada. In Round 1 of the open event, the games F. Caruana vs H. Nakamura (both of the USA), A. Firouzja (France) vs R. Praggnanandhaa, and D. Gukesh vs S. Vidit (all of India) ended in draws. Playing Black, Ian Nepomniachtchi made a draw with Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan). The Russian grandmaster improved on Black's play in the Queen's Gambit Declined from the Abasov vs Giri game of the 2023 World Cup and seemed to have gained a slight edge in the rook ending. However, the Azerbaijani GM produced a series of precise moves which made a draw inevitable. 

The pairings for Round 2 are as follows: Nepomniachtchi - Firouzja, Nakamura - Vidit, Praggnanandhaa - Gukesh, and Caruana - Abasov.

China's Tan Zhongyi has grabbed the lead in the women's tournament. She defeated her compatriot Lei Tingjie with the black pieces. A. Muzychuk (Ukraine) vs N. Salimova (Bulgaria), and R. Vaishali vs H. Koneru (both of India) drew their games. Russians Alexandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno parted on friendly terms. Lagno employed the increasingly popular line in the Rossolimo variation of the Sicilian Defense, which had happened in the Grand Swiss 2023 in her second Andrey Esipenko's game with a very promising position. However, in time pressure the Russians began to repeat the moves, and soon the arbiters fixed a draw by a threefold repetition. 

Round 2 pairings: Lagno - Koneru, Goryachkina - Muzychuk, Salimova - Lei Tingjie, and Tan Zhongyi - Vaishali.

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Photos by Michal Walusza (FIDE) and Maria Emelianova