Won four games and caught Carlsen's attention: How Nepomniachtchi aims to win the Candidates Tournament in Chess

Russian chess player Jan Nepomniachtchi is getting closer to becoming a rival to the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in the fight for the world title.

The 30-year-old grandmaster is confidently leading the Candidates Tournament with four rounds remaining.

He is one point ahead of the three closest competitors and has already managed to scare the current holder of the chess crown with the level of his play.

The Candidates Tournament with the participation of eight chess players started back in March last year in Yekaterinburg, but then the competition had to be interrupted after the first round due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On April 19, the players sat down at the chessboards again to meet each other and spend the remaining seven rounds.

Before the resumption of the parties, the leadership was held by the Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who was among the contenders after the refusal of the Azerbaijani Teimur Radjabov to participate. He had the same number of points with Nepomniachtchi, but was ahead of him thanks to the victory as White in the last match before the break - the Russian did not complete his work in the French defense and admitted defeat on the 42nd move. Four chess players were one point away from the leading duo, and among them was the last contender for the title of world champion Fabiano Caruana from the United States.

The second circle began without reconnaissance. Caruana defeated Vachier-Lagrave with white pieces, which radically changed the position in the standings. The players chose a very difficult scenario for the development of the game, in which their opening preparation was extremely important, and the American chess player turned out to be better in it. He was quick and easy to make decisions, while Vachier-Lagrave wasted too much time on moves that didn’t get him into the endgame with an advantage. Although at times it seemed that the fight would be reduced to a draw, the Frenchman had no strength left to defend, and Caruana brought the matter to victory.

Meanwhile, Nepomniachtchi has already managed to hold his first meeting after a break with the Dutchman Anish Giri. The Russian chess player had the opportunity to take a risk and play a double-edged sword in response to the opening proposed by his opponent, but preferred not to ask for trouble. Giri repeated his proposal, intending to exchange the light-squared bishops, but it was also rejected. As a result, the players quickly agreed to a draw, which brought Nepomniachtchi to the sole first place with a half-point advantage over Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave, and at the same time allowed him to keep his strength for the next two days.

The ninth round did not affect the course of the tournament. All three favorites played black and were content with a draw. Nepomniachtchi had to defend himself in a meeting with Alexander Grischuk, who wanted to rehabilitate himself after a sensational defeat to Kirill Alekseenko the day before, but he coped with all the challenges. Alekseenko, on the other hand, met with Caruana, and the young Russian tried to use all his pieces as much as possible, but in the end both chess players were left with the same kings. Vachier-Lagrave played black for the second time in a row and risked again being left with nothing in the game with Ding Liren, but the Chinese made a gross mistake, starting early to advance the pawn to the promotion zone. The Frenchman took advantage of this gift and saved the party.

But in the tenth round, Nepomniachtchi increased his lead. He played White against Alekseenko, and this match immediately followed an unpredictable scenario. Black began to make inaccuracies early, and the initiative passed to the leader of the tournament. Alekseenko allowed other people's pieces too close to him and could not even think of a counterattack. Nepomniachtchi won his fourth victory - at least two more than anyone else in the tournament.

Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave also played white, but did not take advantage of their minimal advantage.

The Frenchman dictated his terms to Giri, but faced the exemplary defense of the Dutch grandmaster and, after exchanging pieces, agreed to a draw.

The American chess player himself surrendered the position in a duel with Ding Liren, giving him extra pawns in the middle of the board.

In the place of the Chinese, another chess player could even have brought the matter to victory, but the opponents shook hands in time.

As a result, Nepomniachtchi increased his advantage to one point - four rounds before the end, it may already be enough for the final victory, especially taking into account the remaining games.

The Russian chess player will have to play white against Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave, as well as bring out the black pieces in duels with the Chinese Ding Liren and Wang Hao, who have only two victories for the entire tournament for two.

Nepomniachtchi's leadership was not ignored by Carlsen, who has been holding the chess crown for eight years.

He was so impressed by the Russian's play that he directly stated about the possible loss if they happened to meet at the same board.

“He can outplay me.

It was always curious to have such a style battle! "

- quotes the words of the Norwegian Chess24.

The Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg will last at least until April 27 and will be delayed for one more day if additional games are needed to identify the strongest chess player.

And the fights for the title of world champion will start on November 24 in Dubai and will be held as part of the "World Exhibition"