2 months ago
Javokhir Sindarov is already nan clear favourite to triumph nan 2026 Candidates successful Cyprus and to situation India’s Gukesh Dommaraju for nan world crown aft nan Uzbek grandmaster, 21, began nan tourney pinch a commanding 3.5/4, including an impressive victory against nan pre-tournament favourite and world No 3, Fabiano Caruana. It is nan fastest ever commencement by a subordinate nether nan format of a double-round Candidates.
Sindarov’s seconds correctly anticipated that Caruana, pinch nan achromatic pieces, mightiness unfastened pinch nan coagulated Queen’s Gambit Accepted, and prepared accordingly. “I sewage benignant of caught successful nan opening,” said a subdued Caruana astatine nan post-game property conference. The US champion sewage into dense clip pressure, and aft 20 moves was down to 10 minutes to scope move 40, pinch nary per-move increment.
“Of people I ne'er imagined that I would spell into nan remainder time pinch positive three, but coming I played a really bully crippled and nan prep was besides fantastic, acknowledgment to my seconds,” said Sindarov, who added that he was peculiarly proud to execute this occurrence successful mentation against nan highly knowledgeable Caruana and that he had been fortunate to person revised this circumstantial statement of nan Queen’s Gambit Accepted instantly earlier nan game. The cardinal achromatic innovations were 13 dxc5! and 14 c6! while Caruana’s captious errors came astatine moves 17 and 18, erstwhile 17…Qxd4! and 18…Qxd4! should alteration Black to survive.
Caruana himself had created a operation successful nan erstwhile information erstwhile he defeated China’s Wei Yi successful a miniature successful only 19 moves. Wei’s bishop sewage trapped successful nan American campy and he resigned early alternatively than proceed a hopeless struggle.
Thursday was a remainder time and nan cardinal information 5 pairing connected Friday day will beryllium Hikaru Nakamura v Sindarov. Nakamura, nan world No 2, has had a slow opening pinch 1.5/4 and nary wins, but now has nan opportunity to kickstart his tourney while simultaneously helping his compatriot Caruana. The streamer pinch millions of followers is recapping his games each nighttime live, and will beryllium uncomfortable astatine not being capable yet to show immoderate wins. Nakamura did person chances for triumph successful a double rook ending against Wei, but mishandled it.
Candidates scores aft 4 of nan 14 rounds: Sindarov 3.5, Caruana 2.5, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (India), Matthias Blübaum (Germany), and Anish Giri (Netherlands) 2, Wei and Nakamura (US) 1.5, Andrey Esipenko (Russia) 1.
The women’s Candidates has been a communicative of missed opportunities, peculiarly by this column’s tip, Aleksandra Goryachkina, who could person had 4/4 had she taken each her chances but who has drawn each her games.The tourney is still each to play for, pinch each 8 competitors betwixt positive 1 and minus one. A item has been nan crippled Tan Zhongyi v Kateryna Lagno, successful which nan Russian’s 42nd to 45th moves were an amazingly imaginative sacrifice of a knight, past a queen, for mate aliases a decisive advantage.
Women’s Candidates scores aft 4 rounds: Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) and Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) 2.5. Goryachkina and Lagno (both Russia), Zhu Jiner (China) and Vaishali Rameshbabu (India) 2, Tan and Divya Deshmukh (India) 1.5.
The Reykjavik Open ended successful a clear triumph pinch 8/9 for nan apical seeded Iranian, Amin Tabatabaei, nan only 2700-rated subordinate successful nan section of complete 400. Tabatabaei was half a constituent up of Zhou Jianchao, nan Chinese-American GM who earlier this twelvemonth collapsed Bogdan Lalic’s grounds of 155 unbeaten games pinch a streak of 158 consecutive games successful 9 months, comprising 106 wins and 52 draws.
The unlucky subordinate was England’s Matthew Wadsworth, who aft checkmating his information 7 opponent was successful clear 2nd place, and successful statement for nan prize of €2,000. After drafting pinch Tabatabaei by coagulated play he was still tied for second, but was past paired pinch Zhou successful nan last round, was edged to conclusion and vanished retired of nan money.
Next week Wadsworth will lead nan mini English contingent astatine nan European Individual Championship astatine Katowice, Poland, wherever he will beryllium accompanied by England’s youngest grandmaster Shreyas Royal, 17, who for illustration Wadsworth is campaigning for a 2600 rating, and by IM Jonah Willow, who intends to complete nan qualification requirements for his GM title.
All 3 are being supported successful Poland by grants from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £250,000-a-year money to thief England’s champion young talents.
Meanwhile, England’s superior schoolhouse prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, has dramatically jumped successful nan charismatic Fide ratings for April to No 1 successful Britain. She has besides surgery into nan world’s apical 100 women for nan first clip and is presently classed arsenic world No 72 pinch a standing of 2366.
World chess ratings are compiled by Fide and updated connected nan first time of each month. In nan April list, Sivanandan replaced four-time British women’s champion Yao Lan, 25, arsenic nan English Chess Federation’s apical player. Her latest beforehand follows beardown caller performances astatine Graz, Austria, and Cannes, France.
Sivanandan already holds records arsenic nan youngest female ever to conclusion a antheral grandmaster, and nan youngest ever to execute a WGM norm.
Sivanandan’s early accelerated advancement is not guaranteed and location are immoderate grounds for caution. Her opening repertoire is constrictive and a touch passive, she is often progressive successful agelong and exhausting marathons, and she relies excessively overmuch connected wide judgement alternatively than circumstantial calculation. Additionally, she soon faces a move from superior to secondary school.
For each these reasons, she is improbable to lucifer nan meteoric advancement that nan world all-time apical 2 women, Judit Polgar and Hou Yifan, achieved successful their early teens. Still, Sivanandan has already had a singular career, and nan champion is astir apt yet to come.
4018: 1 Qc3! Qb7 (Black must defender against some 2 Qg7 mate and 2 Qc8+) 2 Qa1! and Black resigned. It’s zugzwang (compulsion to make a losing move). The BQ cannot now defender against some 3 Qg7 mate and 3 Qa8+. If 2…Kf8 3 Qh8+ Ke7 4 Qg7+ wins, aliases 2…Qe7 3 Qh8+ Qf8+ 4 Qxf8+ Kxf8 5 Kh7 and nan g7 pawn queens.
