Teenage Indian grandmaster D Gukesh will face France’s Firouza Alireza in the penultimate round of the Chess Candidates Championship, expected to be held in Toronto. Gukesh, in his final white game, will greatly improve his chances in the tournament if he can get past Alireza, who has clearly been struggling. With 7.5 points, Gukesh is tied for the lead with American Hikaru Nakamura and Russian Ian Nepomniacki.

Only two rounds remain in the biggest event of the year.

The most important matchup in the penultimate round will be between Nepomniacki and Nakamura. The latter has been at his best, winning three games in a row, while Nepomniach is the only player in the tournament to remain unbeaten after 12 grueling games.

Apart from these three, Fabiano Caruana is the only player who has a chance to win this event.

Team USA has seven points so far and will have to contend with strong opposition in India’s R Praggnanandhaa and Nepomniachtchi in the final round.

Even Gukesh faces a tough opponent in Nakamura in the final round, and much will depend on his performance against the world No. 3.

Praggnanandhaa showed signs of a podium finish midway through the race but ultimately failed to get to where he wanted to be.

However, the Indian has shown great potential and it is only a matter of time before he breaks into the top five or even higher in the world rankings. Praggnanandhaa currently has six points.

Another Indian player, Vidit Gujrathi, started well and his two wins against Nakamura in the tournament were his best efforts.

However, in some cases, nerves and time pressure also play a role and the Indians will have to wait for the next opportunity.

It was a tough call for Alireza, who only scored 4.5 points, while Abbasov finished last with 3 points.

In the women’s group, Tan Zhongyi leads with 8 points, and her closest opponent is compatriot Lei Tingjie, half a point behind.

Following the two leaders are Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno, and India’s Koneru Humpy, Score 6 points each.

R Vaishali is second with 5.5 points, a full point ahead of Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine and Nurgyul Salimovaa of Bulgaria.

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