1 month ago
Javokhir Sindarov extended his lead astatine nan world title Candidates successful Cyprus connected Thursday erstwhile nan 20-year-old Uzbek grandmaster won for nan sixth clip astatine nan arena to return his wide full to an unbeaten 8 points retired of 10, 2 up of his closest challenger, nan Netherlands No 1, Anish Giri.
India’s Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu had prepared a crisp and analyzable defence to nan Queen’s Gambit pinch an early push of his g and h pawns, but he blundered astatine move 22 and Sindarov was capable to get a queen and respective pawns for 2 ineffective rooks.
In nan erstwhile round, Giri, 31, had established himself arsenic Sindarov’s main rival erstwhile he defeated nan pre-tournament favourite and US champion, Fabiano Caruana, successful a crippled pinch a superb finish, wherever nan exquisite series 42…f5+! 43 exf5 Kh6!! led to unavoidable checkmate aliases triumph of nan queen.
In nan aforesaid round, Sindarov, aft creating a winning onslaught against Matthias Blübaum’s king, miscalculated and allowed a queen exchange alternatively of converting by 24…Qb7!
The past remaining obstacle for Sindarov whitethorn beryllium successful information 13, erstwhile he has Black against Giri. If he overcomes that, past it will beryllium connected to nan champion of 14 games world title lucifer later successful 2026 against Gukesh Dommaraju. Both players will beryllium nether 21, pinch Gukesh astir six months younger than Sindarov.
Candidates scores aft 10 of nan 14 rounds: Sindarov 8, Giri 6, Caruana 5, Blübaum (Germany), Wei Yi (China), and Hikaru Nakamura (US) 4.5, Praggnanandhaa 4, Andrey Esipenko (Russia) 3.5.
Results successful nan women’s Candidates person been chaotic, pinch 5 leaders connected 4.5 aft 8 rounds. India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu, nan sister of Praggnanandhaa, leads outright aft being connected a minus people 3 rounds earlier.
Women’s Candidates scores aft 10 of nan 14 rounds: Vaishali 6, Zhu Jiner (China) and Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) 5.5, Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina (both Russia) and Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) 5, Divya Deshmukh (India) 4.5, Tan Zhongyi (China) 3.5.
The Candidates coincided pinch Germany’s Grenke Freestyle Open, a show pinch a mammoth introduction of complete 3,500 competitors successful respective sections. At liking was a ample prize money and a spot successful nan adjacent Freestyle World Championship, which went to Germany’s world No 5, Vincent Keymer, connected tie-break from France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Both totalled 7.5/9. Magnus Carlsen, Caruana and Nodirbek Abdusattorov are already qualified
Carlsen, nan world No 1, was 3rd connected 7/9, besides connected tie-break, aft agreeing his last information crippled against India’s Aryan Chopra, a overmuch little classed player, drawn by repetition. Carlsen had won pinch 9/9 nan erstwhile year, but this clip was reportedly unwell owed to excessive power successful nan playing hall.
England’s IM Marcus Harvey scored his first GM norm astatine nan play astatine nan 4NCL Easter legislature astatine Daventry, 1 of a bid backed by nan ECF and chancellor Rachel Reeves’s £250,000 a twelvemonth money to support nan champion English talents.
Can Harvey now proceed to nan afloat GM title? At 29, nan Wood Green IM has reached nan landmark alternatively precocious successful his career, but he already has a beardown 2446 rating, good supra nan mandatory 2400 minimum. With 1 norm now nether his belt, he tin expect further support for his adjacent fewer attempts. He presently ranks No 23 successful England, but only 3 of those classed up of him are not yet GMs, while 2 of these, IM Harry Grieve and IM Jonah Willow, already person 2 GM norms.
4019: 1 g4+! hxg4 2 Rxc5! Rd1+ (if 2…Qxc5 3 Qxd7+ and White is simply a portion up pinch a mating attack) 3 Kg2 Qxc5 (if 3…bxc5 4 Qxf7+ and mates) 4 Qxf7+ Ke5 5 Bf4 mate.
