Dommaraju Gukesh triumphed in a thrilling final round at the Candidates Tournament in Toronto. The Indian talent, who is still just 17 years old, thereby qualifies to face Ding Liren in a match for the world championship. He is by far the youngest in history to reach this milestone: Kasparov was 20 years old; Carlsen was 22.
One could hardly have scripted a more dramatic 14th round, in which four players remained in contention for tournament victory. Gukesh held a half-point lead over the field, but had the black pieces against Hikaru Nakamura, who would have overtaken him with a win. On the adjacent board Fabiano Caruana played White against Ian Nepomniachtchi, and a win for either player would propel them into a tiebreak for first place (provided that Gukesh did not also win his game).
As it was, Gukesh held his nerve and secured the draw in a game which was fought down to bare kings. But the battle between Caruana and Nepomniachtchi was still to enter its most dramatic phase. Caruana dominated the middlegame, but the ever-resourceful Nepomniachtchi kept finding ways to keep the game alive thanks to a passed pawn that was just one step from promotion. It was far from easy for Caruana to deal with that, since his king on the other side of the board was in constant danger of perpetual check or worse.
In the diagram position, the grovelly 59 Re1 was best, when 59…Nb3+ 60 Kb1 Qf5+ 61 Ka2 Qxf6 62 Qxh2 should win, though even this would require some patience. Instead, Caruana opted for a plausible rook check.
Fabiano Caruana-Ian Nepomniachtchi
Fide Candidates Tournament, Toronto, round 14
59 Rc7+? Ka6 60 f7 Nb3+ 61 Kb1 Qf5+? A counter-error, putting Caruana back on track for victory. Remarkably, 61…Nd2+ secures a draw: 62 Kc2 Qg6+ 63 Kxd2 Qd6+, though that is far from obvious. Moving the White king to the c-file allows …Qxc7+ while moving toward the kingside allows consecutive checks on e6/f6/g6, and Black meets Kxh2 with …Qh5+ followed by further checks on d5 or d1, which cannot be blocked. White may sacrifice the queen on h1 to promote on f8, but then the checks begin anew and the rook on c7 will not escape a fork. 62 Ka2 Nc5 63 Qa8+ Kb5 64 Qc6+ Ka6 65 Qa8+ Kb5 66 Qc6+ 66 Qe8+! was the only winning move, and then 66…Ka6 67 Qe2+ was the clincher. Then 67…b5 68 Rc6+! breaks the defence: 68…Kb7 69 Qxb5+, or 68…Ka7 69 Qe7+ Nb7 70 Qe3+ Kb8 71 Qe6! wins easily. Black could also try 67…Nd3 68 Qxh2 Qe6+ 69 Kb1 Qe1+ 70 Kc2 but the checks soon run out. Ka6 67 Re7 Qf1 68 Qa8+ Kb5 69 Qe8+ Ka6 70 Qa8+ Kb5 71 Qe8+ Ka6 72 Re4 There was nothing better to try. 72 f8=Q Qc4+ 73 Kb1 h1=Q 74 Re1 Qh7+ would even lead to a loss. Nxe4 73 Qxa4+ Kb7 74 Qxe4+ Ka7 75 Qa4+ Kb7 76 Qd7+ Ka6 77 Qc8+ Ka7 78 f8=Q Qxf8 79 Qxf8 h1=Q Despite White’s extra pawn, the endgame is a trivial draw: Draw agreed at move 109.
The result was a crushing disappointment for both players, who shared a poignant sporting moment as they shook hands. ‘I’m very sorry,’ said Nepo, but a dejected Caruana insisted, ‘It’s my fault.’ Nepo, for his part, was the only player to survive the tournament without losing a game. But Gukesh has proven himself a worthy challenger. I came across a video of him as an 11-year-old, in which he stated gently but confidently his goal to become the youngest world champion in history.
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