Candidates 2024 R10: Gukesh draws with Nepomniachtchi, both still in the lead
The highly anticipated clash between the leaders - D Gukesh and Ian Nepomniachtchi ended in a solid draw. The tenth round of FIDE Candidates 2024 witnessed two decisive games. Fabiano Caruana (USA) and Hikaru Nakamura (USA) won their respective games against Alireza Firouzja (FRA) and Nijat Abasov (AZE). They both are now trailing the leaders by a half point at 5.5/10 each. The All-Indian clash between R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi ended in a draw. Praggnanandhaa is also at 5.5/10, followed by Vidit 5/10. Today is a rest day. Round 11 starts tomorrow Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photos: FIDE/Michal Walusza
Nakamura and Caruana score wins, reduce the gap
It goes without saying that the last four rounds are going to be exciting since it is a close race between six players.
Nakamura - Abasov
Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2789) gained a substantial positional advantage in the middlegame. Eventually he trapped Nijat Abasov's (AZE, 2632) rook, forcing him to give up exchange. Rest was just a matter of time, before Nakamura converted it into a win.
Caruana - Firouzja
Black needed to exchange the rooks and get rid of the resultant d6-pawn 30...Rxd6 31.cxd6 Rd8 and things would have remained in balance. Instead, 30...h4 31.Re7+ Kg6 32.Re5 Rh5? and things just spiraled out of Black's control.
Less than an hour before the game, Alireza Firouzja (FRA) shared this image on his instagram story.
Photo Gallery
Time control
The time control for each game is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 41.
Prizes
The total prize fund is €500000. The top three prizes are €48000, €36000 and €24000. All prize money shall be divided equally among the players with the equal score after 14 rounds regardless tie-break results. In addition, each player gets €3500 euros for every half point scored.
Replay Round 10 live stream
Replay Round 10 games
Round 10 results
Standings after Round 10
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2743 | 6 | 30,25 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2 | 7 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FID | 2758 | 6 | 27,50 | 2 | 0 | |
| 3 | 6 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2747 | 5,5 | 25,50 | 2 | 0 | |
| 4 | 8 | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2789 | 5,5 | 25,00 | 3 | 0 | |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2803 | 5,5 | 23,75 | 2 | 0 | |
| 6 | 5 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2727 | 5 | 24,50 | 3 | 0 | |
| 7 | 3 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | FRA | 2760 | 3,5 | 18,75 | 1 | 0 | |
| 8 | 2 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | AZE | 2632 | 3 | 15,75 | 0 | 0 |
Round 11 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 2747 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | 2789 | 8 | ||||
| 2 | 5 | 2727 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 2758 | 7 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 2743 | GM | Gukesh, D | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | 2803 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | 3 | 2760 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | GM | Abasov, Nijat | 2632 | 2 |
