Gukesh Youngest Ever Candidates Winner, Tan Takes Women's By 1.5 Points

After 14 rounds and over three weeks of play, 17-year-old GM Gukesh Dommaraju has won the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament and is the youngest player in history to win a Candidates Tournament. He will play GM Ding Liren for the world championship title later this year. 

In a tense, almost six-hour game, GM Fabiano Caruana was unable to finish off a winning position against GM Ian Nepomniachtchi to extend the tournament one more day with tiebreaks. With a draw in that game, Gukesh's draw against GM Hikaru Nakamura was enough to advance.

Former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi won the 2024 FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament by a 1.5-point margin after leading the tournament the entire way through. She attained a winning advantage against GM Anna Muzychuk, but a draw was still enough to secure tournament victory. She will play GM Ju Wenjun in the next FIDE Women's World Championship in 2025, which will be a rematch of their 2018 encounter where Tan lost.

Standings - Candidates

Standings - Women's Candidates

• Candidates: Gukesh Makes History, Caruana Falls Short
• Women's Candidates: Tan Qualifies For All-Chinese World Championship Rematch

Candidates: Gukesh Makes History, Caruana Falls Short

Gukesh's accomplishment this April has smashed many records. At 17 years old, he is the youngest to win the Candidates Tournament by over three years. He will play the first-ever world championship to not include a European player, which is also the first all-Asian world championship (excluding women's world championships). 

He is India's number-one chess player by rating, and after this tournament he is higher-rated than the current world champion, who is seventh in the world rankings, by one point. His rating performance was 2847 across the 14 rounds.

Youngest Candidates Winners

The world championship match isn't yet scheduled, but we know it will be later this year. If Gukesh wins it he'll become the youngest undisputed world chess champion in history. It should be mentioned that GM Ruslan Ponomariov won the knockout FIDE World Championship in 2002 at the age of 18, but at a time when the world title was split; GM Vladimir Kramnik, and the player he beat in a match in 2000, Garry Kasparov, didn't participate.

Gukesh was born in Chennai, India, the same place former World Champion Viswanathan Anand grew up. In fact, he was seven years old when GM Magnus Carlsen first became world champion in 2013—and that match took place in his home town. He told FM Mike Klein he remembered it: "I had just started playing chess and I remember I visited the hall for one of the games. It was something huge. I just started playing chess and such a huge thing happened at my home town."

11 years later, that same child has become a young man who will sit at that very same table, metaphorically speaking.

At the press conference, Gukesh was asked when he realized he might win. His response showcased his resilience: "If I had to pinpoint a moment where I really felt this could be my moment, it was probably after the seventh game, after I lost to Firouzja... Even though I just had a painful loss, I was feeling at my absolute best. Maybe this loss gave me so much motivation."

Even though I just had a painful loss, I was feeling at my absolute best.

—Gukesh Dommaraju

Nakamura-Gukesh was the most important game, but it was far from the most chaotic. He told Klein: "I was just in a mental state where I just do my job properly, play a good game, and see what happens." It turned out that a draw was enough for tournament victory, but he was prepared to play tiebreaks if Caruana or Nepomniachtchi won their game.

"He was not worse for a second in this game," said GM Robert Hess about Gukesh's play. Facing a Queen's Gambit Accepted, Nakamura tried the ambiguous 7.a3, a surprising move but one that the Indian teenager was ready to meet. Nakamura later called it a "slight inaccuracy."

He was not worse for a second in this game.

—Robert Hess

Carlsen briefly joined the broadcast early in the game and first criticized Gukesh's 10...cxd4—"a move which I absolutely hate"—only to change his mind on the very next move. "I love what Gukesh has done. I didn't even think about [11.]...b4!... I don't think I've seen it before."

I love what Gukesh has done.

—Magnus Carlsen

Nakamura said in his video recap: "When Gukesh played this opening and found the move ...b4! on move 11, this was an excellent move... after that, I never really had any opportunities today."

Nakamura, needing to win, sacrificed a pawn for some play, but they reached a position where only Gukesh could be better. The last critical moment was when Nakamura offered a queen trade with 24.Qb5, and Gukesh could have kept queens on to play for the win. In the game, he traded queens and Nakamura held the pawn-down endgame, although it took many, many more moves. 

The game, which ended with bare kings, left one king standing: Gukesh.

You can listen to Nakamura's thoughts about the game in the video below.

Caruana-Nepomniachtchi was a must-win game for both sides, a rare situation in chess. A draw would eliminate both players from contending from first, the only spot that matters in this tournament, and that's exactly what happened.

In a Queen's Gambit Declined Ragozin Variation, Nepomniachtchi pushed his kingside pawns with 6...h6 and 7...g5 to gain space, at the cost of creating weaknesses. His opening play was ambitious and sound, even if it backfired later on. 

Carlsen criticized Nepomniachtchi's time usage on the moves 15...Qe7, missing 15...gxf4, and 16...Bxc3: "Ian has not used a lot of time and he's made two impulsive moves in a row... I don't get it." Nepomniachtchi said in the press conference: "I mixed up all ideas. I mean, that happens when you play an opening you are not familiar with." Soon after, Caruana started to outplay his opponent.

Ian has not used a lot of time and he's made two impulsive moves in a row.

—Magnus Carlsen

After 24...b6, Caruana has a winning position! The flashiest move is 25.Rd7, but 25.Bd7 is good too!https://t.co/YsMJ32azsc#FIDECandidates pic.twitter.com/7ZUPIl4lKF

— chess24 (@chess24com) April 21, 2024

The American GM achieved a winning position but had to make 10 more moves in under 10 minutes to receive more time. 39.Bh7?! walked into 39...Rxg5!, although Caruana said he didn't miss this tactic; he just thought it was still winning. After 41.Ka1??, played in two minutes after just receiving an additional 30, the win objectively slipped into thin air.

What followed was a maddeningly complicated endgame where both players made countless errors. Caruana had several very difficult opportunities to win the game, but the position—not to mention nerves—was too overwhelming in practice.

The game only ended on move 109, when Caruana exhausted every chance he had left. GM Rafael Leitao explains the titanic battle in detail below.

It wasn't the result either player wanted, but it was especially heartbreaking for Caruana, who started the press conference with "I feel like an idiot." He later added: "It was a bad game at a very unfortunate moment." And even Nepomniachtchi admitted, "I don't know what to say. Some bad luck for Fabiano."

I don't know what to say. Some bad luck for Fabiano.

—Ian Nepomniachtchi

Abasov-Praggnanandhaa was the only decisive game of the round, and Praggnanandhaa won from the black side of a King's Indian Defense. It was a nice example where a queen trade didn't help simplify the position. 33.Qe1? gave Black a powerful breakthrough with 34...b5! and White could not hold together his weaknesses.

For both players, it was their first-ever Candidates. For Praggnanandhaa, it's a decent end to a tournament that at one point looked promising. He finishes on 50 percent and loses a fraction of one rating point. 

Even Abasov knew he was in for a hard time. In this format, he is the third player ever to not win a single game, after GM Anish Giri and GM Veselin Topalov in 2016.

GM Alireza Firouzja vs. GM Vidit Gujrathi ended in under 10 minutes with a Berlin draw. Firouzja ends the tournament in second to last, while Vidit is in the place above him. For the talented 20-year-old Firouzja, there will likely be more chances in the future; for Vidit, who's 29 years old, every opportunity matters. It'll take another remarkable performance, like at the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss, to make it back in.

The sky is the limit for 17-year-old Gukesh, and the next stop is the world championship match.

Women's Candidates: Tan Qualifies For All-Chinese World Championship Rematch

How should one play for a draw? It's the perennial question and there are at least two schools of thought on this.

Playing a solid opening and hunkering down in a slightly passive position is one approach. But IM Nazi Paikidze said at the recent U.S. Women's Championship, "Playing for a draw when you need a draw is the worst strategy!" This second camp says that the best way to play for a draw is to play for the win.

Needing a draw with Black against Muzychuk, Tan opted for the second option and played the O'Kelly Sicilian Defense, a rare sideline that may have caught her opponent off-guard. It worked wonders and after Muzychuk's 16.Qd3?—Tan said she was prepared up until that move—the Chinese grandmaster got a runaway passed e-pawn and a winning position.

She correctly said that she felt the chance slipped somewhere after White's 25.Rd3 in the heavy-piece endgame, where she soon allowed a perpetual check. But a draw was enough to win the tournament anyway.

"To be honest, coming into this tournament I did not have high expectations," said Tan at the press conference. "Right now competitive chess is not my number-one priority because I have my own club in China and I have this chess coaching career." She mentioned training her students for the Chinese youth championships.

Right now competitive chess is not my number-one priority.

—Tan Zhongyi

Even despite her modest expectations, she won the tournament convincingly. Tan won the world championship in a 64-player knockout in 2017, but then lost 5.5-4.5 to Ju in a match in 2018. 

Which format does she prefer? "I think a knockout system and this system it reveals the different strengths and different abilities, but I think my performance in this tournament really is a huge validation for myself." She expanded: "I think I prefer the Grand Swiss because I think with personal individual preparation I don't have enough time compared to younger generations."

Four-time champion Ju has defended the title since 2018. They'll play their match in 2025.

In the remaining games, there were two decisive results, both wins for Black, and one draw.

The only person who could have stopped Tan in the final round was GM Lei Tingjie, but only with a specific set of circumstances. She needed to win on demand against GM Humpy Koneru and she also needed Tan to lose her game. Neither happened.

Lei played an impressive queen sacrifice, 23.Qxa5!!, and GM David Howell remarked on the broadcast: "That's some beautiful stuff—I've been commentating a long time, but this is right up there with the most beautiful games I've ever seen!" 

... this is right up there with the most beautiful games I've ever seen!

—David Howell

But it was only good enough for equality as Black gave her queen right back a few moves later. Objectively, Lei had enough for the exchange in the endgame, but didn't prove the compensation at the board. Humpy went on to win with an entire extra rook, and then two.

Although Tan would have won the tournament anyway, the end of Lei's tournament may leave a bad taste in her mouth. After winning four out of five games between rounds six and 10, she was unable to keep the fire burning, and lost her last two games. For Humpy, on the other hand, the second half of the tournament was much better than the first. All three of her wins came after round seven.

In another example of Indian resurgence, GM-elect Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated GM Kateryna Lagno to win her fifth (!) game in a row. This came after losing four straight and leaves her with only decisive results in the last nine rounds, gaining 14 rating points.

It was a complicated Ruy Lopez where Black invited her opponent to thematically sacrifice a piece on g5 with lasting pressure. Lagno would have had a dangerous attack if she found 28.Ra3!, but after allowing 28.Bh6? Bxf2!, the tables suddenly turned. After 31.Qg3?, Vaishali had a winning attack. 

GM Aleksandra Goryachkina vs. IM Nurgyul Salimova was the only other draw. The top seed, Goryachkina, didn't manage to win a game after round six, and lost two games in the second half of the tournament. For Salimova, the only international master in the field, it was good exposure, and she gained 3.6 rating points. She may very well be back in the future.

In the Philidor Opening, Goryachkina could have capitalized on her middlegame advantage with 23.Nd6!, with ideas of even trapping the opponent's queen. In the game continuation, she missed the chance and eventually held an objectively equal pawn-down endgame.

That concludes the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournaments. Congratulations to the winners!

You can watch video recaps of the Candidates in our playlist below (click here).

The FIDE Candidates Tournaments are among the most important FIDE events of the year. Players compete for the right to play in the next FIDE World Championship match against current World Chess Champions GMs Ding Liren and Ju Wenjun.

Daily coverage:

• Round 13: Gukesh Leads Candidates Before Last Round, Tan Needs Only A Draw In Women's
• Round 12: Nakamura Scores Hat Trick, Joins 3-Way Lead With Nepomniachtchi, Gukesh
• Round 11: Nepomniachtchi, Tan Regain Sole Lead, Nakamura Beats Praggnanandhaa
• Round 10: Nakamura, Caruana Bounce Back; Lei Joins Lead In Women's
• Round 9: Vidit Beats Nakamura Again, Tan Jumps Back Into Sole Lead Of Women's
• Round 8: Nakamura Leapfrogs Caruana, Gukesh Re-enters Shared Lead With Nepomniachtchi
• Round 7: Firouzja Knocks Gukesh Out Of Lead, Nepomniachtchi Heads Tournament Again
• Round 6: Tan Plays Attacking Gem In All-Decisive Day In Women's; Vidit, Praggnanandhaa Recover
• Round 5: Gukesh Joins Lead, Nepomniachtchi Survives Praggnanandhaa's Killer Preparation
• Round 4: Nepomniachtchi Defeats Vidit, Takes Sole Lead; Tan Survives Major Scare
• Round 3: Brother/Sister Comeback: Praggnanandhaa Defeats Vidit, Vaishali Finds Her Groove
• Round 2: Vidit Ends Nakamura's 47-Game Unbeaten Streak On All-Decisive Day
• Round 1: Candidates Opens With Abundance of Fighting Spirit

Previews:

• How To Watch The 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournaments
• Magnus Carlsen Ranks The Candidates Players
• Who Should You Root For In The 2024 Women's Candidates Tournament?
• Who Should You Root For In The Candidates Tournament?
• Who The Stats Say Will Be The Next World Championship Challenger
• From Trailblazers To Candidates: 10 Brilliancies Played By Women