Grandmaster D Gukesh performed well to hold top seed Fabiano Caruana of the United States to a draw, but Vidit Gujrathi in Toronto He lost again to Russian player Ian Nepomniachtchi in the fourth round of the Chess Candidates Championship. On the day, R Praggnanandhaa drew with Hikaru Nakamura of the United States, while Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan fought hard to win against Firouza Alireza of France. (Firouzja Alireza) split the points to keep the race for a spot in the eight-man double round-robin tournament alive. Challenger for the next World Championship.

Nepomniach won for the second time with white and became the only three-point leader in the event, now followed by Caruana and Gukesh with 2.5 points each. Praggnanandhaa follows in fourth place with 2 points, while Gujrathi, Abasov, Alireza and Nakamura have 1.5 points each.

In the women’s category, R Vaishali ensured her winning streak matched that of sister Praggnanandhaa and drew a draw with Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina, but Koneru Humpy suffered her first loss to the lowest seeded player , the youngest contestant Nurgyul Salimova. Bulgaria. Tan Zhongyi leads by three points after a draw with Russia’s Katrina Ranio, while China’s Lei Tingjie signed a treaty with Ukraine’s Anna Muzchuk.

Tan leads the way, with Goryachkina still trailing with 2.5 points, while the trio of Vaishali, Salimova and Lagno are half a point behind. Humpy, along with Muzychuk and Lei, slipped to a tie for sixth place with 1.5 points.

Gukesh played in black against Caruana in Italy’s popular start, with players from both sides duking it out in the main edition. Gukesh faced some pressure in the middle game, but he made good sacrifices, resulting in many pieces being traded.

The ensuing endgame, with both queen and pawn present, still gave Caruana some visual opportunities, but the Indian remained alert, taking 72 moves to ensure a draw.

Gujrati took advantage of Berlin’s defense to win his second-round match against Nakamura, so his opening choice against Nepomnjacic was also predictable.

The Russian is a veteran of two World Championships, having won the last two qualifying events, however, he has some thoughts on the topical endgame that gives him a slight advantage.

Gujrathi should have equalized but the constant pressure and loss to Praggnanandhaa in the previous round may have taken their toll as he was slowly beaten down in the stump.

Nepomniach led his king deep into the heart of Blake’s position, and when severe material losses became inevitable, Gujrati was over.

Praggnanandhaa earned praise and respect from his opponents in every round. Nakamura was no exception, opting for a safe version in the day’s other Italian opener. The players were evenly balanced in the middle game, and the Americans were delighted to draw with white in just 24 moves.

Abbasov had to give up pieces to Alireza in the middle game, but his courage and determination came in handy because Alireza, despite trying for a long time, could only end up with a draw and a piece.

Salimova proved her credentials through the Women’s World Cup and she was no flash in the pan. Hampi opened in Catalonia as a black man against the tougher side of the Bulgarians.

The Indian adopted a Dutch-like defensive setup early in the middle innings, taking the match into uncharted territory, but her efforts to attack the back team failed to materialize.

Salimova made a timely breakthrough in the middle, winning some pieces after the queen trade to maintain the advantage. Humpy made no progress and ended in 62 moves.

Vaishali went to Tarrasch to defend Goryachkina, for which the Russians were clearly ill-prepared. In the middle game, chess pieces were traded in piles, and within a relatively short period of time, the players entered the endgame of rooks and pawns with only three chess pieces each. A draw is a fair result.

Ragnow had a chance to get her first win against Tan, but was unable to keep the momentum in her favor, while Ray battled Muzychuk for a long time before the peace was signed.

The fifth round will be played after the first rest day. Ten rounds remain in the biggest event of the year.

Round 4 results (Team India, unless otherwise noted): Ian Nepomniachtchi (IFI, 3) beat Vidit Gujrathi (1.5); Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 1.5) tied with R Practice (2); Fabiano Caruana (USA) , 2.5) defeated D Gukesh (2.5); Nijat Abbasov (Aze, 1.5) drew with Firouza Alireza (Fla, 1.5).

Women: Alexandra Goryachkina (IFA, 2.5) tied with R Vaishali (2); Nurgyul Salimova (Bulls, 2) beat Koneru Humpy (1.5); Kateryna Lagno (IFA, 2) vs. Tan Chung Yee (Chn, 3) Drawn; Anna Muzchuk (Ukraine, 1.5) defeated Leitinger (China, 1.5).

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