Replay R1: Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Richard Rapport / Ding Liren – Ian Nepomniachtchi / Fabiano Caruana – Hikaru Nakamura / Teimour Radjabov – Alireza Firouzja Watch live R2: Richard Rapport – Alireza Firouzja / Hikaru Nakamura – Teimour Radjabov / Ian Nepomniachtchi – Fabiano Caruana / Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Ding Liren
Video R1: GM Polgar and GM Gustafsson / GM Daniil Yuffa and WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni / GM Benjamin Bok and team Hikaru / Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal / GM Naroditsky and WGM Skripchenko
Report R1: Caruana and Nepomniachtchi shine in R1 of the FIDE Candidates Tournament / Live blog day 1 Video: Nakamura analyses his game against Caruana / A miniature in Ding – Nepomniachtchi
The most anticipated chess tournament of 2022 – the FIDE Candidates Chess kicked off in Madrid. Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi won their games against Hikaru Nakamura and Ding Liren, respectively, and emerged as early winners of the event. Round 2 is scheduled for today at 15:00 CEST with the following pairs: Richard Rapport – Alireza Firouzja / Hikaru Nakamura – Teimour Radjabov / Ian Nepomniachtchi – Fabiano Caruana / Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Ding Liren
Richard Rapport – Alireza Firouzja, R2 Candidates Chess 2022
Richard Rapport and Alireza Firouzja both drew their games in the first round of the Candidates 2022 tournament. Rapport encountered Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Firouzja met with Teimour Radjabov. The R2 opponents met this year at the over-the-board Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest, with the game ending in a draw.
Replay the game – Alireza Firouzja – Richard Rapport 1/2-1/2, Superbet Chess Classic 2022
Hikaru Nakamura – Teimour Radjabov, R2 Candidates Chess 2022
Hikaru Nakamura suffered a loss in the first round playing against his compatriot Fabiano Caruana. Teimour Radjabov meanwhile pressured 18-year-old Iranian-French prodigy Firouzja, but the game ended in a draw. The players haven’t met in the otb tournament for more than 3 years, having the last clash in Moscow during the Moscow FIDE Grand Prix tournament. Hikaru Nakamura won the game.
Replay the game – Hikaru Nakamura – Teimour Radjabov, Moscow FIDE Grand Prix 2019
Ian Nepomniachtchi – Fabiano Caruana, R2 Candidates Chess 2022
The early leaders of the Candidates 2022 will have a chance to improve their lead in the tournament. It is interesting that the candidates drew the last four played games, but Caruana had whites in all of them. The last game played between Nepo and Caruana, with Nepo having Whites, happened last year in Paris, during the GCT Paris Rapid & Blitz. Nepo won the blitz game.
Replay the game – Fabiano Caruana – Ian Nepomniachtchi 1/2-1/2, Superbet Chess Classic 2022
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Ding Liren, R2 Candidates Chess 2022
One of the favorites (according to different analyses) to win the event, Ding Liren, started the Candidates with a loss in the first round. The opponents had an otb clash back in 2019, during the Tata Steel 2019, with the game ending in a draw. The Chinese grandmaster Ding Liren faced many difficulties in reaching the 2022 Candidates Tournament. He first needed to complete 28 games in a short time to be eligible to qualify for the event, and then had to avoid the current pandemic lockdown to get to Madrid. All the circumstances may affect his play in the first rounds.
Replay the game – Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Ding Liren 1/2-1/2, Tata Steel Chess 2021
