FIDE candidates chess-round 3: Pragg and Vaishali bounce back, Gukesh impresses

On a day ruled by draws, the siblings R Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali scored over Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and Nurgyul Salimova respectively in the only two decisive encounters of the third round of the FIDE Candidates and Women’s Candidates chess tournament. Dommaraju Gukesh impressed but was not perfect, perhaps missing out on a promising continuation and a winning opportunity against two- time Challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi, the game ultimately petering into a draw. Vaishali played a beautiful game to notch a convincing victory.

Gukesh, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura lead the elite eight player Double Round Robin tournament with 2 points apiece, Vidit and Pragg follow behind with 1.5 points each and Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja and Nijat Abasov trail half a point behind. The 38 move draw between Alireza and Caruana in a Sicilian defense was a rather uneventful one and after suffering losses yesterday Nakamura and Abasov too appeared content to split the point.

Tan Zhongyi of China leads the Women’s Candidates with 2.5 points while Aleksandra Goryachkina follows half a point behind Humpy, Vaishali and Kateryna Lahno have logged 1.5 points each and Lei Thingjie, Nurguyl and Anna Muzychuk are bunched at the bottom with a points each.

17-year-old Gukesh and Nepomniachtchi went the Catalan way with the former enjoying space advantage in the middle-game. The queens were traded early in the game and amidst the flurry of exchanges Gukesh had an opportunity to prevent the exchange of rooks and enhance his position, a chance he missed on the 29^th turn. Nepomniachtchi could breathe easier after the exchange of rooks and by then a draw was the most just outcome.

Pragg punched back decisively after a loss against Gukesh yesterday, once again hinting at his ability to shrug off debacles without much ado. The Ruy Lopez Opening did not go along unfamiliar terrain but Vidit appeared rattled by Pragg's choice of opting for the Schliemann defense on the 4^th turn, a defense not seen often these days. The players' decision to castle on the opposite flanks brought plenty of life into the complex game.

Like yesterday, Pragg was once again in attack mode and it was obvious that Vidit was out of his preparation as he started pondering more and more, consuming precious time. Pragg captured a couple of pawns and forced the exchange of pieces to romp home the victor after 45 moves. “I had seen this particular variation in the morning before the game itself” revealed Pragg later in the post game conference.

Vaishali wielding whites was also in an aggressive mode against Salimova in a Petroff defense game, sacrificing a knight on the 17^th turn to rupture Nurgyul’s castle. Thereafter Vaishali embarked on a pawn grabbing spree and forced the exchange of most pieces to settle the game in her favour after 33 moves. A visibly pleased Vaishali later quipped, "A victory is always good but winning with a beautifully played game always feels good".

The game between Humpy and Zhongyi in a Catalan was also a rather dull one with the emphasis being on liquidation of pieces. It was hardly a surprise when the players signed truce on the 32^nd turn by repetition of moves.

Results of Round 3

D Gukesh (2) drew Ian Nepomniachtchi (2); Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (1.5) lost to R Praggnanandhaa (1.5); Alireza Firouzja (1) drew Fabiano Caruana (2); Nijat Abasov (1) drew Hikaru Nakamura (1)

Women’s Round 3 results

Koneru Humpy (1.5) drew Tan Zhongyi (2.5); R Vaishali (1.5)  drew Nugyul Salimova (1); Anna Muzychuk (1) drew Kateryna Lagno (1.5); Lei Tingjie (1) drew Alexandra Goryachkina (2)