The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2024 concluded yesterday in Toronto, Canada after exciting last round which determined the Challengers of the next World Chess Championship matches.
17-year-old Gukesh D emerged as the Winner of the Candidates Tournament 2024 to become the youngest World Chess Championship challenger ever!
Gukesh headed into the last round as the sole leader of the event and was followed by Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi who trailed by half a point.
The direct match between Gukesh and Nakamura finished in a draw after a balanced game, while Fabiano Caruana missed his great chances to win the game against Nepomniachtchi. Caruana had a decisive advantage throughout the game, but Nepo was defending well setting up plenty of tricks. In a decisive moment for a victory, Fabiano had only one minute on the clock, and repeated some moves which led to an equal position. The position transposed to a deadly drawn Queen endgame and the game eventually finished with a peaceful result and Gukesh remained alone on the top.
Gukesh finished the event with a score of 9 points, while Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi scored 8.5 points to tie for the second place.
Tan Zhongyi had a full point lead before the last round and needed only a draw against Anna Muzychuk to qualify for the World Chess Championship match against Ju Wenjun. Muzychuk opened well and took a small edge, but Tan Zhongyi used her chances to overtake the advantage. The endgame was clearly better for the Chinese grandmaster but eventually finished with a perpetual check which was enough for Tan Zhongyi to clinch gold.
Lei Tingjie was trailing by Tan Zhongyi and went to the final round determined to score a win and try to force the tiebreaks. She sacrificed a Queen against Humpy Koneru, but the Indian defended well and developed a better position. Lei Tingjie fought until the end, but Koneru Humpy scored a victory.
FIDE Women’s Candidates Final standings:
Detailed information can be found on the official website of the event.
Photos by FIDE/ Michal Walusza & Maria Emelianova
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