It has been two weeks since Dommaraju Gukesh became the youngest-ever World Chess Championship challenger after obtaining outright victory at the Candidates Tournament. The player who was closest to catching Gukesh in the final round was Fabiano Caruana, who missed clear winning chances in his round-14 game against Ian Nepomniachtchi. In the latest episode of the C-Squared Podcast, Caruana reflects on his performance and the development of the tournament in general. Unmissable. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Gukesh D, an incredibly level-headed 17-year-old from Chennai, became the World Chess Championship challenger by winning the very strong 2024 Candidates Tournament in Toronto. Gukesh entered the final round as the sole leader, and safely held a draw with black against direct contender Hikaru Nakamura. Either Fabiano Caruana or Ian Nepomniachtchi could have caught the youngster with a win, but their direct encounter saw Caruana failing to make the most of a number of winning chances before agreeing to a 109-move draw in what turned out to be a titanic struggle. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Gukesh D, at 17, is a win away from becoming the next World Chess Championship challenger. The Indian prodigy beat Alireza Firouzja on Saturday to go into the final round of the Candidates Tournament as the sole leader. Three experienced contenders, who are also the top seeds in Toronto, stand a half point behind: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. Caruana joined the chasing pack by beating Praggnanandhaa R with the black pieces. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
The much-anticipated Tata Steel Masters kicked off on Saturday in Wijk aan Zee. A lively first round saw four players scoring full points, all with the black pieces Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri and Wei Yi are sharing the lead after the first day of action. The Challengers also saw four players grabbing wins right off the bat. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament / Lenart Ootes
Four players are sharing the lead with 5/6 points at the Qatar Masters in Doha. Indian GM Narayanan S.L., the sole leader before the rest day, drew Nodirbek Abdusattorov on Tuesday, allowing Arjun Erigaisi (India), Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan) and Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzbekistan) to join the lead. Among the eight players standing at a half point distance are rating favourites Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. In round 6, Carlsen beat Aditya Samant with the black pieces. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy