Nakamura beat Caruana on Round 8 of the Candidates 2022
Round 8 of the 2022 Candidates Tournament ended with Nakamura and Rapport winning against Caruana and Duda respectively. Nepomniachtchi is now a full point ahead with 6/8.
In Round 8, Ibán García, a member of the European Parliament as well as a strong chess player in his youth, paid a visit to the playing hall.
Richard Rapport – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
The Rapport-Duda game started with the Four Knights, Glek Variation. After a clear disappointment in Round 7 after losing a theoretical draw against Nepomniactchi, Rapport bounced back to win against Duda with a sudden and deadly attack on the Black’s king.
Ian Nepomniachtchi – Ding Liren
The Nepomniachtchi-Ding Liren game kicked off with the Scotch Four Knights. The two GMs moved to a quick and well-prepared draw by repetition.
Hikaru Nakamura – Fabiano Caruana
One of the most fascinating games of the Candidates 2022 was Nakamuraa-Caruana. The clash of the Americans started with the Open Spanish, Dilworth Variation with the players yet to stop to think after 20 moves! Nakamura seemed very creative in his style which brought Caruana in trouble.
Hikaru’s depth of understanding of this position was clearly showing, and after an absolutely incredible performance from Nakamura, the game ended in his favor.
Alireza Firouzja – Teimour Radjabov
The Firouzja-Radjabov game started with the Giuoco Piano opening and it was the longest game at the Candidates so far. Firouzja fought hard to create some winning opportunities but Radjabov kept the balance with black. Eventually, the players agreed to a draw after 93 moves!
Join our broadcast with GM Daniil Yuffa and WIM Anna-Maja Kazarian, tomorrow at 13:00 UTC.
Round 9 Pairings:
Alireza Firouzja – Richard Rapport
Teimour Radjabov – Hikaru Nakamura
Fabiano Caruana – Ian Nepomniachtchi
Ding Liren – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
