Ian Nepomniachtchi won an important Round 11 game against Alireza Firouzja to be one step closer to winning the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022. He has a 1.5 points advantage over the second-placed Ding Liren who yesterday scored his third consecutive victory in the tournament.
Round 12 pairings:
Richard Rapport – Fabiano Caruana
Ding Liren – Teimour Radjabov
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Alireza Firouzja
Ian Nepomniachtchi – Hikaru Nakamura

Richard Rapport – Fabiano Caruana, R12 Candidates Chess 2022
Fabiano Caruana was the main chaser of Ian Nepomniachtchi, holding second place most of the time. After a tough loss to Ding Liren in the 11th round, Fabiano fell to the fourth position on the Candidates rankings. He today faces Richard Rapport who scores 4.5 points and ties for the 6th place. Their Round 5 encounter finished in a draw.
Replay the game – Fabiano Caruana – Richard Rapport 1/2-1/2, R5 Candidates Chess 2022

Ding Liren – Teimour Radjabov, R12 Candidates Chess 2022
Ding Liren had a slow start at the FIDE Candidates Chess 2022, but with the three consecutive victories, he leaped to second place. In the previous Round 5 game with Teimour Radjabov, Ding missed a huge chance to score a victory and the players agreed on a draw in the end. Ding today takes Whites and the stake could be high, as Magnus Carlsen considers to withdraw from the World Championship Match.
Replay the game – Teimour Radjabov – Ding Liren 1/2-1/2, R5 Candidates Chess 2022

Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Alireza Firouzja, R12 Candidates Chess 2022
Alireza Firouzja took a 5-hour preparation for yesterday’s game against Nepo by playing the 250 games hyper-bullet match against GM Daniel Naroditsky. He lost the game and today faces the second-youngest participant of the Candidates – Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Their R5 encounter finished in a draw.
Replay the game – Alireza Firouzja – Jan-Krzysztof Duda 1/2-1/2, R5 Candidates Chess 2022

Ian Nepomniachtchi – Hikaru Nakamura, R12 Candidates Chess 2022
Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura may be the encounter with all the eyes on it. After Nakamura missed chances to play for a win in their 5th round game, he might look for a “sweet revenge” today. Read more: Nakamura about the Candidates R5 game against Nepo: I am disgusted
Replay the game – Hikaru Nakamura – Ian Nepomniachtchi 1/2-1/2, R5 Candidates Chess 2022

