While the opening day of the 2024 Candidates Tournaments saw draws aplenty, the second day produced winners across all four boards in the open section, and two in the women’s section. The biggest highlight of the day was Vidit Gujrathi’s triumph over Hikaru Nakamura.
Vidit, who won the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament to secure a place at the Candidates, unsettled United States of America’s Nakamura with his opening preparations, aided by an effective novelty. The 29-year-old ended Nakamura’s 47-game unbeaten streak, with the latter finding no escape but to concede defeat at one stage.
On another table, two teenage Indian prodigies, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Dommaraju Gukesh faced each other in a battle of twists and turns. At one stage, Praggnanandhaa seemed to have had the upper hand, having more than twice as much time on his clock as compared to Gukesh. But the 17-year-old, who is also the youngest player in this tournament, found a way to weave through the challenges and emerge victorious, beating Praggnanandhaa.
It was not a day of joy for the Rameshbabu family, as Praggnanandhaa’s sister, Vaishali suffered a defeat in the women’s section. Facing the reigning women’s champion of China, Tan Zhongyi, Vaishali had initially offered a staunch fight, but it was not enough for a draw.
Koneru Humpy, meanwhile, did get a draw against the 2022-23 Women’s Grand Prix winner, Kateryna Lagno. The battle between the competition’s two most experienced players produced many interesting turns, but not a clear winner.
Elsewhere, in the open section, the defending champion of the Candidates Tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi had a fairly comfortable win against Alireza Firouzja. On the contrary, Fabiano Caruana was made to work hard for a win against the lowest-seeded player in the competition, Nijat Abasov, but the American did get his first win.
In the women’s section, Aleksandra Goryachkina got her first win, beating Anna Muzychuk. Defending champion Lei Tingjie’s poor run continued as he could only get a draw against Nurgyul Salimova.
Candidates Tournament, Day 2 Results:
Hikaru Nakamura lost against Vidit Gujrathi
R Praggnanandhaa lost against D Gukesh
Ian Nepomniachtchi won against Alireza Firouzja
Fabiano Caruana won against Nijat Abasov
Kateryna Lagno drew against Koneru Humpy
Tan Zhongyi won against R Vaishali
Nurgyul Salimova drew against Lei Tingjie
Aleksandra Goryachkina won against Anna Muzychuk
(Players mentioned on the right played with black pieces)
R Praggnanandhaa vs Vidit Gujrathi on Day 3
On the third day of the competition, Gukesh will be facing Nepomniachtchi, while Vidit and Praggnanandhaa will take on each other, with the result of this clash likely to have big implications on the final standings. Koneru Humpy will face Tan Zhongyi, who has been the best performer from the women’s section so far, while Vaishali will compete against a high-flying Nurgyul Salimova.
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