Two Paths to the Same Outcome In 2024 Candidates Round Four

The final round before the first rest day in the 2024 FIDE Candidates and Women’s Candidates saw each section take a very different path to the same outcome of three draws and one decisive result.

After a rest day filled with preparation for some and eclipse-watching for others, the players return to battle today as the fifth round begins at 1:30 p.m. CDT. WGM Gulrukhbegim brings us annotations on all the games below.

OPEN

In the Open, good preparation led to relatively tame chess in three of the four games:

In contrast, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi was up to the challenge that GM Vidit Gujrathi gave him, opting to go into the dreaded “Berlin Endgame,” that Vidit had signaled a willingness to play in his second-round game against Nakamura. Nepomniachtchi showed superior understanding of the resulting position, and even produced the first novelty.

Nepomniachtchi watches over an unfolding Berlin Masterpiece (photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/Chess.com)

WGM Tokhirjonova’s comments here are particularly insightful, as this type of position with an early queen trade and positional imbalances can be very difficult to understand for the average club player.

With this win, Nepomniachtchi takes sole first with a 3/4 score, ahead of GMs Fabiano Caruana and Gukesh D., who are both a half-point back with 2½/3.

courtesy FIDE

Today, GM Alireza Firouzja takes the white pieces against American GM Hikaru Nakamura. Vidit, who has produced a decisive result in three of his four games thus far, takes white against Caruana. Nepomniachtchi has black, but with GM Praggnanandhaa R. playing white, a sharp fight is not out of the question. Finally, Gukesh has the white pieces against Abasov, which, on paper, could produce chances for Gukesh to catch Nepomniachtchi in the standings. That said, Abasov’s preparation has appeared solid thus far.

WOMEN

The Women’s section also saw White win one game while the other three were drawn. But to assume that the players produced similarly safe, even chess would be a huge mistake. Indeed, only GM Aleksandra Goryachkina’s game against GM-Elect Vaishali Rameshbabu fit this pattern:

In GM Anna Muzychuk’s game against GM Lei Tingjie, Muzychuk was pushing for an advantage in a four-rook endgame for quite some time, and eventually achieved a winning position.

Muzychuk out played Lei for most of the game, but resolute defense made the conversion difficult (photo courtesy Michal Walusza/FIDE)

Unfortunately for Muzychuk, the proper conversion was a study-like, and she failed to find it. Take a minute here: can you do better?

White to play and win

The solution is available here:

In an even more consequential game for the standings, GM Kateryna Lagno was outplaying the sole leader, GM Tan Zhongyi, for the entire game.

Kateryna Lagno had a golden opportunity to shake up the standings today (photo courtesy Michal Walusza/FIDE)

A win for Lagno would have brought her into a share of the lead along with Tan. Instead, after one unfortunate blunder, Tan retains sole lead.

Finally, IM Nurgyul Salimova earned her first victory in her first Candidates, defeating GM Humpy Koneru. Humpy followed the pattern of playing for a win with either color against the lowest-rated player in the event, but the strategy backfired here.

IM Nurgyul Salimova recorded her first victory in the event (photo courtesy Michal Walusza/FIDE)

Interestingly, she did achieve a promising attack out of the opening with the black pieces, but the resulting position was not a good fit for her style. From there, Salimova bounced back, and converted with excellent technique.

As mentioned, Tan leads the section by herself with a 3/4 score. Goryachkina is in sole second with 2½/4, perhaps explaining why she did not take risks with white in her own game.

Goryachkina keeps close tabs on Lagno's game (photo courtesy Maria Emelianova/Chess.com)

Lagno and Salimova are the only two players with even scores, and half the field sits on “minus-one” with 1½/4.

courtesy FIDE

Today’s most impactful game for the standings is Tan playing with the white pieces against Salimova. Another victory for Tan would propel her even further ahead, while overextending could risk her lead evaporating altogether. Koneru plays white against Goryachkina, which would not be who I wanted to play to try to bounce back after a disappointing loss. Vaishali and Lei take the white pieces against Muzychuk and Lagno, respectively.

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Play begins daily at 1:30 p.m. CDT, except on rest days (Schedule | Pairings | Crosstables)