Candidates Tournament 2022: Radjabov scores his first win after 2019

New Delhi: Round 9 of the ongoing Candidates tournament proved to be an exciting one as three out of the four games saw a decisive result. It was a big day for GM Teimour Radjabov, who scored his first win since October 2019. Also, the game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana, which ended in a draw, was an interesting one in the Petroff defence.

Ding and Firouzja also won their first game of the tournament and now will be eyeing a comeback. Even after major point shifts on the table, Nepomniachtchi is still at the top.

Fabiano Caruana Vs Ian Nepomniachtchi (1/2-1/2)

It was again a game in Petroff’s defence. The opening choice can be said as a brave decision for Caruana as Nepomniachtchi seems well prepared with this opening. Caruana played 11.Nh4 which visibly was an opening novelty as it was just played once in a game between two players with a rating in the 1600s. Ian later told that he could not recall any of his preparations at that moment.

A popular YouTuber Antonio Radic who streams chess games by the name ‘Agadmator’, tweeted about the move Nh4.

Fabi surprises Nepo with a move that has been played only once in 2006 by a 1700 player. This could be a bloodbath ? pic.twitter.com/ZCBwKqMZrn

— agadmator (@agadmator) June 27, 2022

Nepo was spending a lot of time trying to find out answers to Fabi’s moves. Though the engine showed equality, Fabi had some practical chances to gain an advantage. But, later in the game, it was Fabiano who was really low on time, he had 5 minutes on the clock with 12 moves remaining to reach time control. Few exchanges helped Nepomniachtchi simplify and the game ended in a draw.

Alireza Firouzja Vs Richard Rapport (1-0)

It was weird that Rapport took 2 minutes to play his first move and spent about 10 minutes on a well-known position in Ruy Lopez: Berlin defence. This proved that Rapport was not well-prepared for the game. Richard Rapport played inaccurately and gave a chance to Firouzja to break through f4. Alireza had a good position at an early stage of the game. But After a few moves, not only did black equalise but rather landed in a better position by being 2 pawns up.

On move 26, however, Rapport played Bc4 which proved to be a big mistake. After this move, Rapport was unable to make a comeback and had to resign on move 41.

Teimour Radjabov Vs Hikaru Nakamura (1-0)

It was another game in Ruy Lopez: Berlin defence and Radjabov chose 9.Qc2, a rare move, which took Nakamura off guard. Nakamura gave up a pawn on move 16 to create some counterplay but failed to do so. Radjabov played accurately to create a passed pawn. It proved to be another game in round 9 where black resigned on move 41.

Radjabov seemed well prepared and determined to score a win. it was his first win after almost 2 years and 8 months. Nakamura blamed his wrong mindset for this one-sided game.

Ding Liren Vs Jan-Krzysztof Duda (1-0)

Ding Liren, whom even Magnus Carlsen considers to be a tough challenger, was not able to convert some winning chances in the tournament. The Chinese grandmaster again went for his favourite, English opening, in a crucial round. The game was quite balanced most of the time. Just before reaching the time control, Duda faced time trouble and did some mistakes not only allowing white to create a passer but also having a winning advantage.

As Ding started a king march, Duda knew he is going to lose this one. Duda resigned on move 61 and Ding scored his first win of the tournament. Now, the Polish grandmaster is the only player who is winless in the tournament.

Standings