Candidates R12: Naka and Gukesh join the lead, Caruana scores

Four players in contention

Two rounds ago, six players remained in contention for first place in a very close race at the Candidates Tournament in Toronto. On Wednesday and Thursday, though, Praggnanandhaa R and Vidit Gujrathi suffered losses that left them out of the fight going into the final two rounds of the event.

In round 11, Ian Nepomniachtchi grabbed the sole lead by achieving a 67-move victory in his dramatic encounter against Vidit. Then, in round 12, Hikaru Nakamura and Gukesh D caught up with the Russian grandmaster by defeating Alireza Firouzja and Nijat Abasov, respectively. The three co-leaders are tied for first place with 7½ points each (a plus-three score).

Thursday’s round also saw Fabiano Caruana beating Vidit to remain in contention going forward, as he now stands a half point behind the leaders. Following a painful loss against Nakamura, Caruana scored wins the next two times he played with the white pieces. Importantly, the top seed is set to face Nepomniachtchi — with white — in the final round.

The player who will enter the deciding rounds with the most momentum surely is Nakamura, who scored three consecutive wins in rounds 10-12. In fact, the last time the famous streamer signed a draw in the event was in the seventh round, when he split a point with Nepomniachtchi — he went on to beat Caruana and lose to Vidit in rounds 8 and 9, before scoring the hat-trick that left him tied for first.

Out of the three co-leaders, Nakamura is also the player who has collected the most wins so far in the event (and the most losses, of course), with 5 victories and 2 losses to his name. Gukesh has suffered 1 loss, while Nepomniachtchi is the only participant to remain undefeated in Toronto (in either of the two categories).

Find below the pairings of the final two rounds, set to take place on Saturday and Sunday. In case of a tie for first place, all participants sharing the lead will play a rapid (and blitz, if necessary) tiebreaker on Monday.

Results - Round 12

	Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.		Pts.		Name	Rtg	Nt.
	Nepomniachtchi,I	2758		7	½-½	5½		Praggnanandhaa R	2747
	Caruana,F	2803		6	1-0	5		Vidit,S	2727
	Nakamura,H	2789		6½	1-0	4½		Firouzja,A	2760
	Abasov,N	2632		3	0-1	6½		Gukesh D	2743

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Will Gukesh become a World Championship challenger at 17? | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Nakamura 1 - 0 Firouzja

Analysis by André Schulz

Hikaru Nakamura obtained a third win in a row on Thursday | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Expert analysis by GM Daniel King

Abasov 0 - 1 Gukesh

Analysis by André Schulz

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Nijat Abasov | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Caruana 1 - 0 Vidit

Analysis by André Schulz

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Fabiano Caruana | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Expert analysis by IM Robert Ris

Standings after round 12

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	TB	Perf.
1		Gukesh D	2743		7.5	12		½	½ ½	½ ½	1 ½	½ 1	0	1 1	40.75	2835
2		Nakamura,H	2789		7.5	12	½		½	½ 1	½ 1	0 0	1 1	½ 1	40.50	2832
3		Nepomniachtchi,I	2758		7.5	12	½ ½	½		½	½ ½	1 1	1 ½	½ ½	40.50	2829
4		Caruana,F	2803		7.0	12	½ ½	½ 0	½		½	½ 1	½ 1	1 ½	36.75	2791
5		Praggnanandhaa R	2747		6.0	12	0 ½	½ 0	½ ½	½		1 ½	½ ½	1	33.50	2749
6		Vidit,S	2727		5.0	12	½ 0	1 1	0 0	½ 0	0 ½		1	½	31.25	2699
7		Firouzja,A	2760		4.5	12	1	0 0	0 ½	½ 0	½ ½	0		½ 1	25.25	2657
8		Abasov,N	2632		3.0	12	0 0	½ 0	½ ½	0 ½	0	½	½ 0		19.50	2572
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games

A completely exhausted Ian Nepomniachtchi!

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The Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi with an ELO of over 2700 (June 2023) is one of the best 20 players in the world. For the first time, the sympathetic top player presents himself in a video course. Let a world-class player show you tactical moti

Vaishali and her mother, Nagalakshmi

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Links

• Official Candidates Tournaments website
• On the way to Toronto: Candidates’ performances in Wijk aan Zee
• FIDE publishes regulations for 2024 Candidates Tournaments
• Who will win the 2024 Candidates Tournament?