Madrid Candidates 16th June to Tue 5th Jul 2022

[Matt Mackenzie]

Now looking like it might not be a clean sweep of draws after all.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Looks like round 2 will end with three draws and a win, with Nakamura currently winning against Radjabov.

That will leave Caruana and Nepo in the joint lead on 1.5/2. Ding and Radjabov last with a single draw. Everyone else on 1/2 (I think).

[LawrenceCooper]

Looks like round 2 will end with three draws and a win, with Nakamura currently winning against Radjabov.

That will leave Caruana and Nepo in the joint lead on 1.5/2. Ding and Radjabov last with a single draw. Everyone else on 1/2 (I think).

Nakamura does indeed win after six and a half hours.

[NickFaulks]

Certainly seven of the players are contenders to varying degrees while Radjabov is along for the ride. The Azeri is a marked man and all the others will be reckoning they need to score at least 1.5/2 against him.

Already looking that way. He should never have been there.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Au contraire, offering him a place was totally fair after what happened last time. If he comes last, so what? Somebody has to.

[Nick Burrows]

Round 3 Pairings

Ding Liren 1–0 Rapport
Caruana 1/2–1/2 Duda
Radjabov 1/2–1/2 Nepomniachtchi
Firouzja 1/2–1/2 Nakamura

So far I have 6 correct predictions, with 2 half-point "mistakes"

[Graham Borrowdale]

So far I have 6 correct predictions, with 2 half-point "mistakes"

That's good going. I will go

Ding Liren 1/2-1/2 Rapport
Caruana 1-0 Duda
Radjabov 1/2-1/2 Nepomniachtchi
Firouzja 0-1 Nakamura

[JustinHorton]

Chess24 round two report

[Jonathan Rogers]

It's a fool's game ... so here I go

Ding Liren 1-0 Rapport
Caruana 1-0 Duda
Radjabov 0-1 Nepomniachtchi
Firouzja draw Nakamura

[Matthew Turner]

I'm in Madrid for the candidates and the big news from yesterday was our first Covid case. Clearly the players are keeping themselves to themselves and taking every precaution, but masks have suddenly started appearing at the venue and it is fingers crossed.

[David Sedgwick]

I'm in Madrid for the candidates and the big news from yesterday was our first Covid case. Clearly the players are keeping themselves to themselves and taking every precaution, but masks have suddenly started appearing at the venue and it is fingers crossed.

https://worldchess.com/news/all/covid-1 ... ournament/

A point to note is that World Chess do not have any official involvement with the event.

[JustinHorton]

Firouzja v Nakamura explodes into action with a piece sacrfice (of a sort you often get in Openn Games, though this is a Nimzo).

I'm wondering whether Firouzja might be my favourite to win right now - combination of his big stroke of luck yesterday, his nevertheless having managed his two-black start OK, Caruana's hestitation when well-placed but short of time yesterday and of course Ding's poor start (and, I suppose, inadvertently poor preparation). Mostly just a very unreliable hunch that if it's close he might have the strongest nerves.

[Roger de Coverly]

Firouzja v Nakamura explodes into action with a piece sacrfice (of a sort you often get in Openn Games, though this is a Nimzo).

Also seen in the sharp lines of the Slav with Bg5. The resident Stockfish is saying equal, presumably antipating a repetition.

[JustinHorton]

Pseudo-sacrifice in those lines, no? Unless you're thinking of something I'm not thinking of.

[JustinHorton]

I have figured out Radjabov's tournament strategy: it's draw with White and try to cling on with Black