Candidates 2024 R9: Vidit Gujrathi beats World no.3 Hikaru Nakamura for the second time in ten days
Vidit Gujrathi bounced back well by defeating Hikaru Nakamura (USA) for the second time at FIDE Candidates 2024. The World no.3 started aggressively by pushing his pawn to g5 on sixth move. However, he blundered in the middlegame when he incorrectly attempted to regain the lost pawn. D Gukesh had a well contested draw against R Praggnanandhaa. Alireza Firouzja (FRA) made a lot of attempts to break Ian Nepomniachtchi's defenses. However, he could not find a way. After the game, Firouzja tweeted his displeasure on being told not to walk anymore because his shoe is making noise on the wooden floor. Round 10 starts today at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza
The Shoe Issue?
The tenth round witnessed only one decisive result. D Gukesh and Ian Nepomniachtchi are still in the lead scoring 5.5/9 each. Both Gukesh and Vidit have now scored three wins each at this event.
Vidit - Nakamura: 1-0
Vidit Gujrathi (2727) defeated Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2789) ten days ago with the black pieces showcasing his fantastic preparation. So what did Nakamura do now? He opted for the Two Knights' Defence with the black pieces, went 6...g5 immediately once Vidit castled 7.0-0. Little did the World no.3 know that the early g5 was going to haunt him later.
Nakamura mentioned in the post-game press conference that he blundered 27...Nxe5?? He admitted overlooking 29.Nxd5! after 28.Bxe5 Bxe5 it all went downhill for Black. Instead, 27...Rcd8 28.Ng4 d4 would have kept the game going.
Firouzja - Nepomniachtchi: 0.5-0.5
After losing the first encounter against Ian Nepomniachtchi (2758), Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 2760) was determined to score a win in their second game. He made an exchange sacrifice to get something out of the position.
33.Rg6 Bxg6 34.fxg6 and White can neither get the f6-pawn nor improve his position.
Alireza Firouzja (FRA) tweeted about what he was told about his shoes
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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 9 live stream
Replay Round 9 games
Round 9 results
Standings after Round 9
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2743 | 5,5 | 24,50 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2 | 7 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FID | 2758 | 5,5 | 22,50 | 2 | 0 | |
| 3 | 6 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2747 | 5 | 21,00 | 2 | 0 | |
| 4 | 8 | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2789 | 4,5 | 19,75 | 2 | 0 | |
| 5 | 5 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2727 | 4,5 | 19,00 | 3 | 0 | |
| 6 | 1 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2803 | 4,5 | 18,75 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | 3 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | FRA | 2760 | 3,5 | 17,00 | 1 | 0 | |
| 8 | 2 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | AZE | 2632 | 3 | 14,00 | 0 | 0 |
Round 10 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 2747 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 2727 | 5 | ||||
| 2 | 8 | 2789 | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | GM | Abasov, Nijat | 2632 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | 7 | 2758 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | GM | Gukesh, D | 2743 | 4 | ||||
| 4 | 1 | 2803 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | 2760 | 3 |
