Nepomniachtchi and Caruana Won In Round 6 of the Candidates 2022
Round 6 of the 2022 Candidates Tournament ended with Nepomniachtchi and Caruana winning against Duda and Firouzja respectively. After today’s results Nepomniachtchi is the sole leader of the tournament with 4.5/6 and high chances of being the next Challenger for the second time.
Teimour Radjabov – Richard Rapport
The Radjabov – Rapport game kicked off with the Sicilian Taimanov and a bold continuation from Rapport.
Radjabov missed a surprising win that appeared on the board for only one move to end the game in a draw after 40 moves.
Hikaru Nakamura – Ding Liren
The Nakamura – Liren game started in ease for the American GM, who after 25 moves seemed to be firmly in his preparation, while Ding Liren was an hour behind on the clock! Their game was wild yet precise to eventually end in a draw.
Ian Nepomniachtchi – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Nepomniachtchi quickly hit Duda with a novelty to push the Polish GM to overthink and gain a 35-minute lead on the clock. Their game followed the Svidler – Karjakin game in Wijk aan Zee in 2018 which ended in a draw. Duda decided to sacrifice a piece in exchange of 2-3 pawns but this plan didn’t work out with Nepo gaining a big advantage. Eventually the Russian GM won his third game to remain the sole leader of the tournament with 4.5/6.
Alireza Firouzja – Fabiano Caruana
In the matchup between the World No.3 and No.4, Firouzja was the first to pull a surprise at the opening. After 15 moves Caruana seemed to gain a solid advantage with black until Firouzja totally blundered the position. Caruana is now trailing the tournament’s leader, Nepomniachtchi with 4/6.
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Round 7 Pairings:
Richard Rapport – Ian Nepomniachtchi
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Hikaru Nakamura
Ding Liren – Alireza Firouzja
Fabiano Caruana – Teimour Radjabov
