Indian chess Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju failed to become the sole leader in the open event of the 2024 Candidates tournament in Toronto, Canada, after losing to Alireza Firouzja on Thursday.
The 17-year-old from Chennai – the youngest player competing at the prestigious chess event this year – was tied on four points with Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi going into the seventh round of the event. Nepomniachtchi was held to a draw by Hikaru Nakamura, leaving the door open for Gukesh to take the lead.
The Indian player had put himself in a good position as well, using the black pieces, but eventually struggled due to time pressure before Firouzja took the win.
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The other Indians competing in the open section, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Vidit Gujrathi were held to draws by Fabiano Caruana and Nijat Abasov respectively.
In the women’s section, Vaishali Rameshbabu was beaten by China’s Lei Tingjie, while Koneru Humpy drew against Anna Muzychuk.
Humpy is now sixth in the women’s section leaderboard with 2.5 points, the same as eight-placed Vaishali at the half-way stage of the tournament.
In the men’s standings, Gukesh is second with four points, trailing Nepomniachtchi by half-a-point. Praggnanandhaa is joint-third with Caruana on four points, while Gujrathi is joint fifth on 3.5 points with Nakamura.
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Leaderboard after Round 7 (halfway stage)
| Position | Open section | Women's section |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (4.5) | Tan Zhongyi (5) |
| 2 | Gukesh Dommaraju (4) | Aleksandra Goryachkina (4.5) |
| 3 | Fabiano Caruana (4) | Kateryna Lagno (4) |
| 4 | Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (4) | Lei Tingjie (4) |
| 5 | Hikaru Nakamura (3.5) | Nurgyul Salimova (3) |
| 6 | Vidit Gujrathi (3.5) | Koneru Humpy (2.5) |
| 7 | Alireza Firouzja (2.5) | Anna Muzychuk (2.5) |
| 8 | Nijat Abasov (2) | Vaishali Rameshbabu (2.5) |
Indian results
Gukesh Dommaraju
Round 1: (white pieces) drew with Vidit Gujrathi
Round 2: (black pieces) beat R Praggnanandhaa
Round 3: (white pieces) drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi
Round 4: (black pieces) drew with Fabiano Caruana
Round 5: (white pieces) beat Nijat Abasov
Round 6: (white pieces) drew with Hikaru Nakamura
Round 7: (white pieces) lost to Alireza FirouzjaPraggnanandhaa Rameshbabu
Round 1: (black pieces) drew with Alireza Firouzja
Round 2: (white pieces) lost to D Gukesh
Round 3: (black pieces) beat Vidit Gujrathi
Round 4: (black pieces) drew with Hikaru Nakamura
Round 5: (white pieces) drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi
Round 6: (white pieces) beat Nijat Abasov
Round 7: (black pieces) drew with Fabiano CaruanaVidit Gujrathi
Round 1: (black pieces) drew with D Gukesh
Round 2: (black pieces) beat Hikaru Nakamura
Round 3: (white pieces) lost to R Praggnanandhaa
Round 4: (black pieces) lost to Ian Nepomniachtchi
Round 5: (white pieces) drew with Fabiano Caruana
Round 6: (white pieces) beat Alireza Firouzja
Round 7: (black pieces) drew with Nijat AbasovKoneru Humpy
Round 1: (black pieces) drew with R Vaishali
Round 2: (black pieces) drew with Kateryna Lagno
Round 3: (white pieces) drew with Tan Zhongyi
Round 4: (black pieces) lost to Nurgyul Salimova
Round 5: (white pieces) drew Aleksandra Goryachkina
Round 6: (white pieces) lost to Lei Tingjie
Round 7: (black pieces) drew with Anna MuzychukVaishali Rameshbabu
Round 1: (white pieces) drew with Koneru Humpy
Round 2: (black pieces) lost to Tan Zhongyi
Round 3: (white pieces) beat Nurgyul Salimova
Round 4: (black pieces) drew Aleksandra Goryachkina
Round 5: (white pieces) drew Anna Muzychuk
Round 6: (white pieces) lost to Kateryna Lagno
Round 7: (black pieces) lost to Lei Tingjie