8/16/2022 – Ding Liren had a very tough start at the 2022 Candidates Tournament. He lost his first game, and a series of seven draws ensued. At that point, the world number two began to score one win after another, ending with a very impressive 8/14 in second place. We conducted an interview with him, discussing his performance at this elite event, going through the critical positions in each one of his games. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

7/18/2022 – What, you may well ask, is the 'Two Plus Club'? Is this some country club for lonelyhearts, or something of that ilk? Nothing like that. By winning the Candidates tournament for the second straight time, and thus qualifying himself for a second shot at the World title, Ian Nepomniachtchi has joined a very exclusive group of repeat challengers. Let's take a look at who they are. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

7/8/2022 – Eight of the strongest players in the world fought in Madrid to get a shot in the next match for the world crown — Ian Nepomniachtchi (pictured) was the winner. Deep opening preparation and maximum focus often led to slightly better (or worse) endgames. GM Karsten Müller aims his attention at the last stage of the game, as he compiles the most salient and instructive endings from the Candidates Tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

7/5/2022 – The 2022 Candidates Tournament came to an end on Monday, with an eventful round that saw three decisive results and a hard-fought draw. In the most important game for the standings, Ding Liren beat Hikaru Nakamura to finish in sole second place. Teimour Radjabov and Alireza Firouzja also scored full points, while the champion, Ian Nepomniachtchi, managed to end the tournament undefeated, as he drew with black against Jan-Krzysztof Duda. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

7/4/2022 – The Candidates Tournament is the ultimate qualifier for the FIDE World Championship. Eight prominent grandmasters compete for the right to face reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in a match for the crown. The event is a double round-robin held in Madrid, Spain, from 16 June to 5 July 2022. Rounds kick off at 15.00 CEST (09.00 ET, 18.30 IST). Follow the games live with expert commentary!

7/4/2022 – Ian Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates Tournament for a second time in a row on Sunday. The 31-year-old, much like in 2021, secured first place with a round to spare, and thus gained the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen in the next match for the World Championship title. Round 13 of the tournament saw Hikaru Nakamura beating Jan-Krzysztof Duda to grab clear second place. Nakamura is set to face Ding Liren, currently in third place, in a decisive final-round encounter on Monday. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

7/3/2022 – Eight of the strongest players in the world are fighting in Madrid to get a shot in the next match for the world crown. Deep opening preparation and maximum focus often lead to slightly better (or worse) endgames. GM Karsten Müller aims his attention at the last stage of the game, as he compiles the most salient and instructive endings from the Candidates Tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

7/2/2022 – In the one decisive game of round 12, Teimour Radjabov stopped Ding Liren’s winning streak by beating him from the black side of a Nimzo-Indian Defence. Much earlier, less than ten minutes after the round started, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura signed a 14-move draw by repetition. The day’s results left Nepo two points ahead of his closest chasers with two rounds to go. The Russian is now a half point away from securing tournament victory. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

7/1/2022 – The two most relevant games for the standings finished decisively in round 11 of the Candidates Tournament. Ian Nepomniachtchi beat Alireza Firouzja with black, while Fabiano Caruana first failed to make the most of a better position and then went astray against Ding Liren. This was Ding’s third straight victory, which leaves him in sole second place, 1½ points behind Nepo. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/30/2022 – Fighting chess was the rule rather than the exception in round 10 of the Candidates Tournament. All the players — except Ian Nepomniachtchi, naturally — chose fighting lines, attempting to win at all costs, as the event is coming to an end and first place is all that matters. In the end, Ding Liren and Hikaru Nakamura won and caught up with Fabiano Caruana in shared second place, as the latter overplayed his hand and was defeated by Jan-Krzysztof Duda. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/29/2022 – Eight of the strongest players in the world are fighting in Madrid to get a shot in the next match for the world crown. Deep opening preparation and maximum focus often lead to slightly better (or worse) endgames. GM Karsten Müller aims his attention at the last stage of the game, as he compiles the most salient and instructive endings from the Candidates Tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/28/2022 – Round 9 of the Candidates Tournament saw three players scoring their first wins of the event. The one drawn encounter was the showdown between Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi, in which Caruana tried an offbeat line against his opponent’s Petroff but could not make the most of the small advantage he got in the middlegame. The winners of the day were Ding Liren, Alireza Firouzja and Teimour Radjabov. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/27/2022 – Hikaru Nakamura scored a crucial victory over Fabiano Caruana in round 8 of the Candidates Tournament. After getting a small edge in the middlegame, Naka slowly improved his position until getting a seemingly insurmountable advantage. Caruana tried to swindle his way to a draw, but was unable to escape in the end. Much earlier in the day, Richard Rapport had obtained a crashing victory over Jan-Krzysztof Duda. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/25/2022 – Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana have done it again. For a second day in a row, the frontrunners to take the title scored full points in Madrid. Nepo still leads Caruana by a half point, while Hikaru Nakamura now stands 1½ points behind Caruana in sole third place. It has become hugely unlikely for a player other than the tournament’s two protagonists to bounce back and win the whole thing. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/24/2022 – Eight of the strongest players in the world are fighting in Madrid to get a shot in the next match for the world crown. Deep opening preparation and maximum focus often lead to slightly better (or worse) endgames. GM Karsten Müller aims his attention at the last stage of the game, as he compiles the most salient and instructive endings from the Candidates Tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/24/2022 – Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana scored full points in round 6 of the Candidates Tournament. Nepo thus kept his sole lead, while Caruana remained in sole second place a half point back. The latter now has a full-point advantage over his closest chasers, as we near the event’s halfway mark. Thursday’s round also saw Teimour Radjabov missing a major chance to beat Richard Rapport. | Photo: FIDE / Steve Bonhage

6/23/2022 – For a second time in this year’s edition of the Candidates Tournament, all four games in a single round finished drawn at the Palacio of Santoña in Madrid. It was not for a lack of trying though, as Hikaru Nakamura and Ding Liren had good winning chances they could not convert into full points against Ian Nepomniachtchi and Teimour Radjabov respectively. | Photo: FIDE / Steve Bonhage

6/21/2022 – Ian Nepomniachtchi beat Alireza Firouzja from the white side of a double-edged Sicilian to grab the sole lead at the Candidates Tournament in Madrid. The three remaining games finished drawn, with Ding Liren failing to defeat Fabiano Caruana from a slightly superior position. Thus, former co-leader Caruana is now in sole second place, a half point behind Nepomniachtchi. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/20/2022 – All four games finished drawn in round 3 of the Candidates Tournament. Richard Rapport survived from an inferior position with black for a second time in the event, as he managed to keep the balance in his encounter against Ding Liren. In the longest game of the day, Hikaru Nakamura showed great calculation skills to split the point with Alireza Firouzja. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/19/2022 – Eight of the strongest players in the world are fighting in Madrid to get a shot in the next match for the world crown. Deep opening preparation and maximum focus often lead to slightly better (or worse) endgames. GM Karsten Müller aims his attention at the last stage of the game, as he compiles the most salient and instructive endings from the Candidates Tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/19/2022 – After six and a half hours of play, Teimour Radjabov resigned against Hikaru Nakamura in the one decisive game of round 2 at the Candidates Tournament. Fighting draws were seen on all three remaining boards, with Richard Rapport missing winning chances against Alireza Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana surprising Ian Nepomniachtchi in the confrontation between co-leaders. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/17/2022 – An exciting first round in the Candidates Tournament left Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana — the winners of the event’s two previous editions — in the shared lead. Nepomniachtchi beat rating favourite Ding Liren with the black pieces, while Caruana got the better of compatriot Hikaru Nakamura. At some point, it seemed likely that all four games would finish decisively at the Palace of Santoña in Madrid. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/17/2022 – Today, the most important tournament of the year starts - the Candidates Tournament. The winner will challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship and can become new World Champion. But who will win? We will know in three weeks but we still dare a prediction now, based on the games the eight candidates have recently played against each other. And the winner is...

6/13/2022 – The FIDE Candidates Tournament is the ultimate qualifier for the FIDE World Championship. Eight prominent grandmasters will compete for a top spot in this double round-robin event in Madrid, Spain, from 16 June to 5 July 2022. The first place is all that matters, as the winner qualifies to face the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the match for the chess crown. | Picture: FIDE