The 2022 FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament players come back today to the Palacio Santona chess battlefield after yesterday’s first free day at the tournament. Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi had the pleasure to head into the resting day leading the crosstable on plus one. Some players used the day to prepare for Round 4, some answered FIDE’s complaints about the dress code, and some walked around beautiful Madrid streets. After a short break, the spectators are ready to follow R4 exciting games: Richard Rapport – Hikaru Nakamura / Ian Nepomniachtchi – Alireza Firouzja / Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Teimour Radjabov / Ding Liren – Fabiano Caruana
Daily Candidates recaps: Giri’s R3 Candidates recap / FIDE Candidates R3 recap – Calm before the storm?! / Live with GM Judit Polgar and GM Jan Gustafsson
More on the Candidates: Nakamura: FIDE wants us all to look like it’s 1970’s at the IBM headquarters / FIDE Candidates R3 Recap – Calm before the storm?! / Candidates Chess 2022 / Candidates 2022 pairings / Live games Candidates 2022 / Candidates Chess 2022 Predictions and possible outcomes
Richard Rapport – Hikaru Nakamura, R4 Candidates Chess 2022
Richard Rapport, the Hungarian grandmaster who is in the process of transferring to the Romanian Chess Federation, meets the American GM Hikaru Nakamura. Both players score 1.5 points after three played rounds. Rapport and Nakamura played a total of 8 games with the overall result of 5.5-2.5 in favor of Hikaru. Their latest game was played this January in Berlin at the FIDE Grand Prix, and finished in a draw.
Replay the game – Richard Rapport -Hikaru Nakamura 1/2-1/2, Berlin FIDE Grand Prix 2022
Ian Nepomniachtchi – Alireza Firouzja, R4 Candidates Chess 2022
Ian Nepomniachtchi is in hunt to become the Challenger for the second consecutive time. No chess player managed to win the Candidates Tournament two consecutive times for 66 years. The only player who achieved the “impossible” was Vasily Smyslov back in 1956. On the road to beat Smysslov’s fast, Nepomniachtchi faces 19-year-old prodigy Alireza Firouzja who might be the only player Magnus Carlsen will accept to compete against in the World Chess Championship Match. Nepo and Firouzja played a number of games since 2020, and the latest was played this year in Bucharest at the Superbet Chess Classic. Nepomniachtchi defeated Firouzja having Black pieces.
Read more: Alireza Firouzja – The Future’s Best? / Candidates Chess 2022 – Predictions and possible outcomes
Replay the game – Alireza Firouzja – Ian Nepomniachtchi 0-1, Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2022
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Teimour Radjabov, R4 Candidates Chess 2022
Polish best chess player Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Azerbaijani Teimour Radjabov have played only one classical game between each other. The game took place in Wijk aan Zee at the 2019 Tata Steel Chess and finished in a draw with Radjabov having white pieces. World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen said in a blog post that he doesn’t see Jan-Krzysztof or Teimour as possible winners of the event “Duda and Radjabov I just don’t think have any shot“, but they will for sure give their best to prove him wrong.
Replay the game – Teimour Radjabov – Jan-Krzysztof Duda 1/2-1/2, Tata Steel Chess 2019
Ding Liren – Fabiano Caruana, R4 Candidates Chess 2022
Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana celebrate the 20-year-long rivalty anniversary as their first encounter happened back in 2002 at the U10 World Youth Chess Championship in Heraklion, Crete. Ding Liren back then defeated Caruana as a non-rated player and today they meet at the event they dreamed about as kids. According to chess statisticians predictions, Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana have biggest chances (in percentages) to win the event. Read more about Candidates predictions here
Replay the game – Ding Liren – Fabiano Caruana, World Youth Chess Championship U10, 2002
