One of the most interesting aspects of the Candidates Tournament was the superb opening preparation, and in particular how they managed to set each other problems which hadn’t been foreseen. This is a special skill that involves interacting with the fearsome engines not to find the “best” moves but ones which are almost as strong according to the silicon evaluation but lower down the food chain! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Aydin Suleymanli (pictured with his father) emerged as the winner of the Azerbaijani Championship 2024. The 19-year-old native of Baku prevailed over Mahammad Muradli in the final match to capture his maiden national title. The competition consisted of two stages: a 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control was followed by a playoff with the top four finishers. | Photos: Azerbaijani Chess Federation
Denis Lazavik and Magnus Carlsen advanced to the winners’ bracket final in Division I of the Chessable Masters. Lazavik defeated Jose Martinez, while Carlsen got the better of Vladimir Fedoseev. In the losers’ bracket, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Vladimir Fedoseev remain in contention, as they knocked out Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So respectively. | Photo: chess.com / Thomas Tischio
The pairings of the knockout phase in all three divisions of the Chessable Masters were set up after an exciting day of online-chess action. Most notably, 17-year-old Denis Lazavik defeated Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri to reach Division I, while knocking his elite opponents down to Division II. Lazavik will face Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on Friday, while perennial favourite Magnus Carlsen will face the ever-dangerous Wesley So. | Photo: chess.com / Thomas Tischio
Five players ended day 1 of the World Rapid Championship sharing first place with 4½/5 points. Magnus Carlsen, who assessed his play on the first day as “so-so”, heads the leading pack, which also includes Yu Yangyi, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and Ivan Cheparinov. In the women’s section, Zhu Jiner and Nurgyul Salimova are sharing first place with perfect 4/4 scores. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes