The Candidates

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