Candidates 2024, Round 13: Gukesh takes sole lead after defeating Firouzja

Modified Apr 21, 2024 09:22 IST

Indian grandmaster Gukesh D. (Credit: FIDE/X)

A lot of interesting and thrilling moments took place in the 13th round of the ongoing FIDE Candidates 2024.

Moving into the details of the day, the 17-year-old Indian grandmaster Gukesh D took the sole lead in the campaign after defeating Iranian and French grandmaster Alireza Firouzja in the penultimate round.

Interestingly, Gukesh is leading the standings on top with 8.5/13. American duo, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, and Russia’s Ian Neopmniachtchi are in the joint second slot with eight points apiece.

Starting the game with white pieces, Gukesh began on a poor note. However, he made a good comeback to equalize. He went on to showcase his endgame skills as Alireza put a wrong foot to trade the Queens.

Without missing a chance, Gukesh converted to a win on an impressive note. He will next take on Hikaru Nakamura with the black pieces in the final round. A win in this game will make him the eventual open category champion in the ongoing FIDE Candidates 2024.

In the other games, Praggnanandha had to settle for a defeat against Fabiano Caruana. Meanwhile, Vidit Gujrathi managed to draw over Nijat Abasov. The duo is at the third and fourth positions in the tally.

Moving ahead to the women's category, Koneru Humpy secured a draw over Anna Muzychuk, while Vaishali Rameshbabu stunned Lei Tingjie with an impressive win. Humpy is at the joint third spot while Vaishali also jumped to the joint third position in the latest standings with 6.5 points each.

Notably, there is only one final round left in the ongoing FIDE Candidates. The champion of the open category will take on Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship in 2025. On the other hand, the winner of the women’s category will lock horns with China’s Ju Wenjun in the Women’s World Chess Championship.