Fantastic Second Round of the Candidates Tournament

The second round of the Candidates Tournament offered a performance that even William Shakespeare would not be ashamed of. Let's take a closer look at it.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the defeat of Hikaru Nakamura. Before this game, he had a streak of 47 games without a loss, and many fans had tipped Hikaru as one of the big favorites of this tournament.

Vidit played a very nice move Sxh3. The cooperation of the dark-squared Bb6 with the attack on the white king really worked out well. The variation ...Sxh3 gxh3, Qc7 is convincing in every way.

The final nail in the coffin for white was the move f4, after which the knight on c7 got another opportunity to decide the game. Reflecting on this game, either Hikaru was completely out of form, or Vidit is not willing to let go of his dream.

Maybe Pragg took too many risks unnecessarily. Perhaps he was too eager to earn the full point, and maybe other non-chess factors played a role, but one thing is certain: This defeat significantly complicates his position in the tournament.

On the other hand, Dommaraju collected the gifts offered, and a win with the black pieces in this tournament suits him extremely well.

Fabiano Caruana is, in my eyes, the biggest favorite of the tournament. Personally, I would really wish him victory and perhaps the last chance in his life to become the world champion. In the second round, he just had to wait for his opponent's mistakes and secure the full point.

With this win, Fabiano moves to +1 in the second round, and his stock is on the rise.

A very complicated game, which perhaps was decided by the experience of the old chess matador Ian Nepomniachtchi against the inexperienced chess talent Alireza Firouzja, who for a while delved into the world of fashion before qualifying at the last minute for this tournament.

It would be curious, almost mystical, perhaps even fateful if Ian were to win the Candidates Tournament for the third time in a row! If Ding Liren continues to show his less than convincing performances this year, then the winner of this tournament could become the world champion. Of course, that's what the Candidates Tournament is for. I just wanted to say that winning this tournament might be harder than beating Ding Liren in his current form.

The FIDE Candidates Tournaments are among the most important FIDE events of the year. Players compete for the right to play in the next FIDE World Championship match against current World Chess Champions GMs Ding Liren