Candidates Chess: Gukesh and Nepomniachtchi retain lead after agreeing to 40-move draw

Praggnanandhaa shares the second spot with Caruana and Nakamura; Vaishali registers a victory while Humpy holds joint leader Tan

The game between the two co-leaders, the very experienced Ian Nepomniachtchi and 17-year-old D. Gukesh concludes in a draw. Photo: X/@FIDE_Chess

D. Gukesh and Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, the overnight leaders at the Candidates chess tournament, drew their 10th round encounter at Toronto on Monday.

They have retained the joint lead with six points each.

They are followed half-a-point behind by R. Praggnanandhaa and the two top-seeded Americans, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, who both won their games. The Indian had to settle for a draw, though.

Caruana defeated Alireza Firouzja of France, while Nakamura overcame Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan. Praggnanandhaa split the point with compatriot Vidit Gujrathi, who is in sixth position with five points.

In the women’s event, Lei Tingjie joined fellow-Chinese Tan Zhongyi at the top of the table, after her win against Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia.

Tan and Lei have six points each, while Goryachkina shares the third place with compatriot Kateryna Lagno, half-a-point behind the leaders.

Following them in fifth place with 4.5 points is Koneru Humpy, who drew with Tan.

The day also saw R. Vaishali finally ending her losing streak, with a win against Bulgaria’s Nurgyul Salimova.

Fair result

The game between Nepomniachtchi and Gukesh reached a rook-and-pawn ending from a Ruy Lopez opening before the duo signed peace after 40 moves.

The 17-year-old from Chennai said: “I was Black, and he played a solid game, so it was a fair result. I am in good shape and hopefully it can continue in the last few games.”

The all-Indian game between Praggnanandhaa and Gujrathi also featured Ruy Lopez and lasted 39 moves. The game was drawn by the repetition of moves.

The tournament will resume on Wednesday, after a day’s rest.

Results round 10 (Indians unless specified):

Open: Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 6 drew with D. Gukesh 6; R. Praggnanandhaa 5.5 drew with Vidit Gujrathi 5. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 5.5 bt Nijat Abasov (Aze) 3; Fabiano Caruana (USA) 5.5 bt Alireza Firouzja (Fra) 3.5.

Women: Tan Zhongyi (Chn) 6.5 drew with Koneru Humpy 4.5; Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE) 5.5 lost to Lei Tingjie (Chn) 6.5; Kateryna Lagno (FIDE) 5.5 drew with Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) 4; Nurgyul Salimova (Bul) 4 lost to R. Vaishali 3.5.