The FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022 reaches its halfway. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana separated themselves from the rest of the field, scoring 4.5 and 4 points, respectively. While chess statisticians evaluate Nepo with almost 55% chance to win the event, Anish Giri shares his opinion that the World Championship Match will be played between Nepo and Fabi, putting again the focus on the known question – Will Magnus Carlsen play the Match or he’ll withdraw? After the second free day of the tournament, the event continues today at 15:00 CEST with the 7th round. And despite the fact that miracles are rare, they could still happen and change the course of the Candidates 2022.
Round 7 pairings:
Fabiano Caruana – Teimour Radjabov
Richard Rapport – Ian Nepomniachtchi
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Hikaru Nakamura
Ding Liren – Alireza Firouzja
Fabiano Caruana – Teimour Radjabov, R7 Candidates Chess 2022
Fabiano Caruana lags behind Nepomniachtchi for half a point. He today faces the Azerbaijani grandmaster Teimour Radjabov who yesterday missed a huge chance to score his first victory in the event. Radjabov and Caruana’s latest otb games were played at the Grand Chess Tour Paris. Two blitz games ended in favor of Blacks, with one victory for Teimour and another for Fabiano.
Replay the game – Fabiano Caruana – Teimour Radjabov 1-0, Paris Grand Chess Tour 2022 (Blitz)
Richard Rapport – Ian Nepomniachtchi, R7 Candidates Chess 2022
The sole leader Ian Nepomniachtchi today faces Richard Rapport who is currently holding the third position with 3 points. Nepo will take Black pieces, just as he did 6 weeks ago at the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest when the game against Richie ended in a draw.
Replay the game – Richard Rapport – Ian Nepomniachtchi 1/2-1/2, Superbet Chess Classic 2022
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Hikaru Nakamura, R7 Candidates Chess 2022
Hikaru Nakamura was “disgused” with the R5 draw against Nepo as he had the position with great potential for the full point. The R6 game against Ding Liren ended in a perfect draw, while Jan-Krzyzstof Duda faced a loss against Nepo. The players will meet today with Duda having white pieces. They played their latest otb game at the World Blitz Chess Championship 2021 in Poland, when Nakamura scored as white.
Replay the game – Hikaru Nakamura – Jan-Krzysztof Duda 1-0, FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship 2021
Ding Liren – Alireza Firouzja, R7 Candidates Chess 2022
The youngest participant of the FIDE Candidates Chess 2022 Alireza Firouzja was considered one of the favorites to win the event, but things didn’t go well for him. With 2 points, Firouzja is last on the crosstable, while his R7 opponent Ding Liren scores 2.5 points for the penultimate place. The last time the players met at the table was back in 2019 at the FIDE World Cup, when Ding Liren won both the games.
Replay the game – Ding Liren – Alireza Firouzja 1-0, FIDE World Chess Cup 2019
Read more: Radjabov not happy while checking his phone after the Candidates R6 game / Anish Giri: “Nepo playing Fabi for the Wch title” / Nepomniachtchi and Caruana making distance after R6 of FIDE Candidates
