Sindarov now two factors forward of closest chasers Caruana and Giri
Despite agreeing to a fast 24-move draw with Andrey Esipenko, Javokhir Sindarov prolonged his lead on the high of the standings in spherical eight of the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus. His long-time closest chaser, Fabiano Caruana, suffered his second defeat of the occasion, dropping with the black items to Hikaru Nakamura. In the opposite decisive recreation of the spherical, Anish Giri scored a notable 46-move victory over Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, which allowed him to hitch Caruana in second place. Both now path the chief by a full two factors.
The remaining encounter of the day, Wei Yi v. Matthias Bluebaum, resulted in a 52-move draw that had little direct affect on the battle for first place.
A curious circumstance surrounded the draw between Sindarov and Esipenko. Before the beginning of the spherical, it emerged that Sindarov had inadvertently left a part of his preparation accessible on his Lichess account. The Uzbek grandmaster later downplayed the importance of this mishap, stating that the leaked materials was not notably necessary, though observers famous {that a} key transfer which Nakamura had failed to search out in spherical 5 – after pondering for greater than an hour – was included in these recordsdata.
Esipenko didn’t profit from the leak, as he agreed to a draw by repetition – a choice which the engines approve of – able with queens nonetheless on the board.
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Javokhir Sindarov is having a dream run in Cyprus | Photo: FIDE / Yoav Nis
With six rounds nonetheless to be performed in Cyprus, Sindarov’s possibilities of successful the event have elevated additional. From this level on, sustaining management and avoiding defeats could show ample to safe first place and earn the suitable to problem Gukesh Dommaraju for the world title.
Looking forward, his two most important encounters are scheduled for rounds 11 and 13, when he’ll face Caruana and Giri respectively – in each circumstances with the black items. Before these matchups, Caruana will take white in opposition to Giri in Wednesday’s ninth spherical.
Round 8 outcomes
The all-American conflict between Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana noticed Nakamura bounce again from his round-one loss to his compatriot and degree their head-to-head rating on this occasion.
The consequence additionally echoed their encounter within the 2024 Candidates Tournament in Toronto, the place Nakamura likewise defeated Caruana with the white items in spherical eight. On that event, Caruana entered the spherical simply half a degree behind co-leaders Ian Nepomniachtchi and Gukesh Dommaraju. Caruana later recovered strongly, scoring three wins and no additional defeats, in the end falling simply wanting forcing a playoff with eventual winner Gukesh.
In Cyprus, the compatriots entered an English Opening, with Nakamura acquiring a slight positional edge within the middlegame. After the queens had been exchanged, the gamers reached a double-rook endgame that appeared troublesome to transform for White.
Nakamura is well-known for making use of sustained strain in these positions, and Caruana’s inaccuracy on transfer 28, when he selected 28…h5? as a substitute of 28…Rab2, allowed White to take over by doubling rooks on the seventh rank.
From that time on, Nakamura demonstrated sturdy method to transform his benefit and safe his first win of the event.
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Hikaru Nakamura reclaimed the second spot within the live world ranking after beating Fabiano Caruana | Photo: FIDE / Yoav Nis
Giri’s victory over Pragg was one other technically completed efficiency. By transfer 25, the Dutchman had established a transparent positional benefit, largely as a consequence of his knight on d4. Positioned on a dark-squared outpost, it couldn’t be challenged by Black’s remaining minor piece, the light-squared bishop.
As the sport progressed, the central theme grew to become White’s capability to advance his handed pawn on the e-file. When Pragg failed to search out the extra resilient continuation 35…Bb5 and as a substitute performed 35…Qf7?, Giri was capable of push his pawn ahead till getting a very successful setup.
Giri transformed his benefit methodically, securing the 46-move victory that provides him hopes to nonetheless battle for event victory.
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Anish Giri | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Standings after spherical 8
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