Candidates for chess: Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi are out of contention; D Gukesh crushes Nijat Abasov to take back the joint lead

The 12th round of the Candidates chess competition here saw teenage Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh put on another incredible display to break past Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov’s defenses and retake a share of the lead, although R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi withdrew from contention.

Now that American Hikaru Nakamura has defeated Frenchman Firouza Alireza, there is a three-way lead at the top.

Gukesh, Nakamura, and Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, who drew with Praggnanandhaa, came into the lead overnight with 7.5 points each. Fabiano Caruana of the United States is now leading the group with seven points.

Praggnanandhaa maintains his fifth-place standing with six points, followed by Gujrathi on five.

It is almost impossible for the pair to place on the podium in the eight-player double round-robin competition, however, since there are just two rounds remaining. Alireza and Abasov, with 4.5 and 3 points, respectively, occupy the back half of the standings.

Zhongyi Tan sealed the Chinese dominance in the women’s division with a draw against Nurgyul Salimova of Bulgaria.

Only half a point separated Russian Kateryna Lagno and another Chinese player, Tingjie Lei.

Koneru Humpy of India did a commendable job of holding Russian player Aleksandra Goryachkina to a draw, while R. Vaishali defeated Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine to win her second consecutive match.

Lei is half a point behind Tan, who has eight points. With six points, Humpy, Lagno, and Goryachkina are a far third. Vaishali overtook Salimova and Muzychuk in sixth place with 5.5 points.

The last time a player younger than Gukesh participated in a Candidates tournament was back in 1959, the year Bobby Fischer made a major splash in the chess world. Gukesh, 17, is just the second youngest competitor in history.

The Indian team, black against Abasov and anxious for a win, did not let the Azerbaijani down in the Nimzo Indian defensive match, as they outwitted them in every aspect of the match.

Throughout the competition, Gukesh’s approach has been characterized by his careful selection of side variants, and he has once again prevailed.

Although Abasov may have believed he was superior, Gukesh executed several flawless moves as the game moved into the middle game, leading to an endgame where White was under pressure due to pawn deficiencies.

Gukesh gained a pawn on the queen’s side, and his passed pawns were obviously better in the minor pieces endgame that followed.

Nepomniachtchi has been managing the competition well and almost risk-free.

The Russian, who was playing white, did not take any risks against Praggnanandhaa either. Both had an even playing field thanks to the French defense, and the situation became easier with each piece exchange. There was a dead draw in the rook and pawn endgame on the board.

In the tournament, Gujrathi lost another match, this time against Caruana in an Italian opening game in which the latter played white.

With precise calculations and a well-thought-out plan, Caruana steadily outplayed Gujrathi and took control of the situation in the middle game.

Once again, Nakamura was a class act. Once again, Nakamura made sure that there were issues on both sides during the French exchange. Although Alireza made a mistake once again and ended up looking at a hopeless position, the endgame was balanced.

In the women’s division, Vaishali was the only victor. Vaishali had to effectively defend against an initial surprise that Muzychuk produced in the open Ruy Lopez.

The necessary degree of precision was not there in the Ukrainian.

Vaishali switched to a minor piece endgame, where Muzychuk’s knight was greatly outclassed by her bishop. 57 movements were made in the game.

Against Goryachkina, Humpy took on the Catalan opening as black and managed to score several easy points. The two players swiftly reached peace after exchanging movements once.

Round 12 results (Indians unless otherwise noted):

Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 7) defeated Vidit Gujrathi (5); l Ian Nepomniachthi (Fid, 7.5) tied with R Praggnanandhaa (6); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 7.5) defeated Firouza Alireza (Fra, 4.5). Nijat Abasov (Aze, 3) lost to D Gukesh (7.5).

Women: Nurgyuaal Salimova (Bul, 4.5) drew with Zhongyi Tan (8); Kateryna Lagno (Fid, 6) drew with Tingjei Lei (Chn, 7.5); Aleksandra Goryachkina (Fid, 6) drew with Koneru Humpy (6); Anna Muzychuk (4.5) lost to R Vaishali (5.5).