Gukesh is the last contender, and Pragg and Gujrathi’s prospects are hurt

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 Firouzja Alireza, there is a three-way lead at the top.

Gukesh, Nakamura, and overnight leader Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia—who drew with Praggnanandhaa—joined him on 7.5 points. Fabiano Caruana of the United States is now behind the trio 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 a half-point was enough to separate Russian Kateryna Lagno from another Chinese player, Tingjie Lei.

While Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina was held to a draw by India’s Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali triumphed over Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine for the second time in a row.

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.

Teenage esprit

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

In the Nimzo Indian defense game, when the Azerbaijani was outwitted in every aspect of the match, the Indians, who were playing black against Abasov and sorely needed a win, did not let them down.

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, playing white, took no risks against Praggnanandhaa. 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 endgame with rooks and pawns on the board.

Gujrathi lost another match, this time against Caruana in an Italian opening game in which the latter was playing as white.