5/5/2024 – One of the most interesting aspects of the Candidates Tournament was the superb opening preparation, and in particular how they managed to set each other problems which hadn’t been foreseen. This is a special skill that involves interacting with the fearsome engines not to find the “best” moves but ones which are almost as strong according to the silicon evaluation — but lower down the food chain! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

5/4/2024 – It has been two weeks since Dommaraju Gukesh became the youngest-ever World Chess Championship challenger after obtaining outright victory at the Candidates Tournament. The player who was closest to catching Gukesh in the final round was Fabiano Caruana, who missed clear winning chances in his round-14 game against Ian Nepomniachtchi. In the latest episode of the C-Squared Podcast, Caruana reflects on his performance and the development of the tournament in general. Unmissable. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/24/2024 – Records were shattered and history was made at the 2024 FIDE Candidates. Two events — open and women’s — took place simultaneously for the first time at the same hall. We saw the first brother-sister duo, R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali, participating. In the end, D Gukesh broke a number of records: he was the youngest ever to win the Candidates Tournament and thus become the youngest ever challenger to the World Championship. Gukesh was interviewed by Sagar Shah in what turned out to be a conversation lasting close to two hours. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/23/2024 – The FIDE Candidates Tournament, which captivated audiences for three weeks, is in the books. The closing ceremony was held at 1 Hotel Toronto, the residence of the players for almost a month. The champions, Gukesh D and Tan Zhongyi, were honored with unique trophies crafted from reclaimed Toronto wood, symbolizing their achievement and the enduring connection with the city they’ll carry home. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/22/2024 – Gukesh D, an incredibly level-headed 17-year-old from Chennai, became the World Chess Championship challenger by winning the very strong 2024 Candidates Tournament in Toronto. Gukesh entered the final round as the sole leader, and safely held a draw with black against direct contender Hikaru Nakamura. Either Fabiano Caruana or Ian Nepomniachtchi could have caught the youngster with a win, but their direct encounter saw Caruana failing to make the most of a number of winning chances before agreeing to a 109-move draw in what turned out to be a titanic struggle. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/22/2024 – Tan Zhongyi obtained the draw she needed to claim outright victory at the Women’s Candidates Tournament in Toronto. The Chinese GM grabbed the sole lead from the get-go, as she obtained back-to-back wins in the first two rounds. At some point, Lei Tingjie managed to catch her atop the standings, but Tan turned out to be more consistent than her compatriot in the long run. With her triumph, Tan became Ju Wenjun’s challenger in the next match for the Women’s World Chess Championship. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/21/2024 – Tan Zhongyi secured outright victory in the Women’s Candidates Tournament after safely drawing her game against Anna Muzychuk with black. Gukesh D, on his part, first drew Hikaru Nakamura and then had to wait for the result of the game between Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Caruana missed a number of winning chances in a memorable encounter that lasted 109 moves, thus granting 17-year-old Gukesh overall victory and the right to face Ding Liren in the next match for the World Chess Championship! | Replay all the games with computer-assisted analysis. Full reports to follow shortly.

4/21/2024 – Tan Zhongyi only needs a draw in the final round of the Women’s Candidates Tournament to become Ju Wenjun’s challenger in the next match for the world title. In the penultimate round, Tan drew Aleksandra Goryachkina and saw Lei Tingjie, the only other contender for first place, losing to Vaishali Rameshbabu. This was Vaishali’s fourth consecutive victory! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/21/2024 – Gukesh D, at 17, is a win away from becoming the next World Chess Championship challenger. The Indian prodigy beat Alireza Firouzja on Saturday to go into the final round of the Candidates Tournament as the sole leader. Three experienced contenders, who are also the top seeds in Toronto, stand a half point behind: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. Caruana joined the chasing pack by beating Praggnanandhaa R with the black pieces. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/19/2024 – Round 12 of the Candidates Tournament saw three players scoring full points to greatly increase their chances of achieving overall victory. Hikaru Nakamura and Gukesh D defeated Alireza Firouzja and Nijat Abasov respectively to join Ian Nepomniachtchi in the lead, while Fabiano Caruana got the better of Vidit Gujrathi to go into the final two rounds at a half-point distance from the co-leaders. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/19/2024 – Three out of four games ended drawn in round 12 of the Women’s Candidates Tournament, as Vaishali R scored her third win in a row in her encounter with black against Anna Muzychuk. The games that featured Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie could have easily ended with decisive results — Tan escaped with a draw from a losing position against Nurgyul Salimova, while Lei failed to make the most of clear winning chances against Kateryna Lagno. Thus, Tan kept her half-point lead over Lei. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/18/2024 – Three games ended decisively in round 11 of the Women’s Candidates Tournament, with Tan Zhongyi beating Kateryna Lagno in a key matchup, Vaishali R taking down Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Humpy Koneru defeating Nurgyul Salimova. These results left Tan atop the standings, with a half-point advantage over Lei Tingjie. Goryachkina’s loss left her a whole two points behind Tan with only three rounds to go in Toronto. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/18/2024 – An exciting round of chess saw Ian Nepomniachtchi winning a rollercoaster game against Vidit Gujrathi to regain the sole lead at the Candidates Tournament in Toronto. Nepo stands a half point ahead of Gukesh D, the former co-leader, and Hikaru Nakamura, who obtained a remarkable victory over direct contender Praggnanandhaa R. With three rounds to go, we can expect more thrilling games in the fierce fight to become the challenger in the next match for the World Championship. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/17/2024 – Lei Tingjie scored a fourth win in five rounds to join Tan Zhongyi in the lead of the Women’s Candidates Tournament in Toronto. Lei defeated direct contender Aleksandra Goryachkina with the black pieces. With four rounds to go, the Chinese leading duo stands a full point ahead of Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno. Meanwhile, one more game ended decisively on Monday, with Vaishali R first surviving a losing position and then managing to beat Nurgyul Salimova. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/16/2024 – U.S. grandmasters Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura collected vital wins in round 10 of the Candidates Tournament, as they now stand a half point behind co-leaders Ian Nepomniachtchi and Gukesh D. Nakamura got the better of a struggling Nijat Abasov, while Caruana defeated Alireza Firouzja out of a double-edged Sicilian Najdorf. The participants will get rest days on Tuesday and Friday, as there are only four rounds to go in Toronto. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/15/2024 – After Lei Tingjie inflicted Tan Zhongyi’s first defeat on Saturday, Tan regained the sole lead by beating Vaishali Rameshbabu in Sunday’s round 9. Tan stands a half point ahead of Lei and Aleksandra Goryachkina, who are set to face each other on Monday. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/15/2024 – Vidit Gujrathi bounced back from his round-8 loss against Gukesh D by beating Hikaru Nakamura with the white pieces on Sunday. The remaining three games ended drawn, which means Ian Nepomniachtchi and Gukesh continue to share the lead with 5½ points each. Since Nakamura lost, now only Praggnanandhaa R stands a half point behind the co-leaders. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/14/2024 – Lei Tingjie scored a third consecutive win in round 8 of the Women’s Candidates Tournament. Importantly, Lei defeated former long-standing sole leader Tan Zhongyi, which resulted in three players sharing first place at the end of the round — Lei, Tan and Aleksandra Goryachkina are now sharing the lead with 5 points each. One more game ended decisively on Saturday, as Humpy Koneru got the better of Vaishali R with the white pieces. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/14/2024 – Two decisive games in Saturday’s eighth round had a big impact on the standings of the Candidates Tournament. Gukesh D beat Vidit Gujrathi to retake the shared lead (with Ian Nepomniachtchi), while Hikaru Nakamura defeated Fabiano Caruana to climb to shared third place, a half point behind the co-leaders. This was Nakamura’s fourth consecutive classical win with the white pieces over Caruana. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/12/2024 – The frontrunners in the Women’s Candidates Tournament faced each other in round 7, with Tan Zhongyi keeping the lead after holding Aleksandra Goryachkina to a 40-move draw with the black pieces. The one decisive game of the day saw Lei Tingjie beating Vaishali R. This was Lei’s second win in a row, which leaves her tied for third place with 4/7 points. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/12/2024 – At the halfway mark in the Candidates Tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi tops the standings with 4½ points to his name. Former co-leader Gukesh D was defeated by Alireza Firouzja, who came from losing 3 out of the first 6 games he played in Toronto. Gukesh is now sharing second place — a half point behind Nepomniachtchi — with Praggnanandhaa R and Fabiano Caruana. Rounds 8-10 will take place between Saturday and Monday, following the tournament’s second rest day. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/11/2024 – All four games ended decisively in round 6 of the Women’s Candidates, with Tan Zhongyi, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Kateryna Lagno and Lei Tingjie all collecting full points. Tan remains as the sole leader after obtaining a magnificent, attacking victory over Anna Muzychuk. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/11/2024 – Praggnanandhaa R (pictured) and Vidit Gujrathi scored full points in round 6 of the Candidates Tournament. Pragg inflicted a second consecutive defeat on Nijat Abasov, while Vidit got the better of an overly daring Alireza Firouzja. The remaining two games ended drawn, which leaves Gukesh D and Ian Nepomniachtchi still tied for first place in the standings. Pragg now stands a half point back, with as many points as Fabiano Caruana. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/10/2024 – Tan Zhongyi remains as the sole leader at the Women’s Candidates after all four games ended drawn in Tuesday’s fifth round. None of the games lasted fewer than 44 moves, though, as a number of chances were missed in hard-fought struggles. Tan has a half-point lead over Aleksandra Goryachkina, while Vaishali R, Nurgyul Salimova and Kateryna Lagno (pictured) stand a half point further back. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza