FIDE Candidates 2024: Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh and Vidit look to punch above their weight in open category

The most awaited chess event of 2024, the FIDE Candidates 2024, will commence in Toronto’s The Great Hall, at 12 midnight IST on Thursday to find the challenger to the reigning World champion Ding Liren.

The presence of three young Indians – R. Praggnanandhaa, D. Gukesh and Vidit Gujrathi – has made it very special for the chess lovers in this part of the world. India represents Asia in this prestigious eight-man event and each player has qualified on performance, and not reputation.

In a format that allows each player to face the other twice – once with each colour – the experience is most likely to hold sway over the exuberance of youth.

That’s why the likes of World No. 1 and former World champion Magnus Carlsen and five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand backed seasoned campaigners like Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Ian Nepomniachtchi to be part of the leading pack, ahead of the younger contenders.

From an Indian perspective, it is clear that the three debutants cannot be tipped among the favourites.

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They have the game to match the best on their day. In the last couple of years, post-Covid, the Indian trio has faced those from the elite and given a fair account of themselves in games played over the classical time-format.

Much like a Test match in cricket, that favours the stronger teams to survive upsets, double round-robin and classical time-format is designed to bring out the best from the better players.

This is not to say that younger players are around to make up the numbers.

A bespectacled Praggnanandhaa, with former Russian champion Peter Svidler as his ‘second,’ and Gukesh hold the cutting edge and have proved their consistency to be worthy of being among the top-16 players in the world. The way 25th-ranked Vidit performed in the World Cup before earning his slot in the Candidates with the title-triumph in a very formidable field in the Grand Swiss are enough evidence of his class.

But Carlsen and Anand have reasons to go with the American duo of Caruana and Nakamura.

They clearly have a more all-round game and of course, the experience to stand up to the pressure the occasion brings along. At the same time, they have to deal with the expectations and play to their reputation.

Carlsen has categorically tipped Caruana, making his fifth appearance in the Candidates, as the one with a “great chance to win.” He named Nakamura and two-time defending champion Nepomniachtchi as his likely winners. Among the Indians, Carlsen thought “Praggnanandhaa is very unlikely to win the tournament, but I cannot see him having a really bad result either.”

Carlsen continued, “I don’t think Gukesh will do poorly, but I don’t think he will do too well either. I don’t think he fits into either category, but I think he is not quite ready yet to make the leap, and I think it’s probably more likely that he will have a bad event than a good event.”

About Vidit, the World No. 1 said, “I think Vidit is, sort of, in between tiers here, “Will Do Well” and “Will Do Poorly.” I am sure he will be very serious and well-prepared. He will not win the tournament, although I do think he has the capacity to make a really good score if things go his way.”

Though the Indian chess fans expect more from their players – among the four lower-rated players in the field – the trio promises a fair number of surprise results. Though Vidit has a higher percentage of draws against higher-rated players, expect Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh to be on the lookout for even half a chance to nail more illustrious rivals.

Make no mistake. Each player is well prepared for the other seven rivals, for both colours on the board. Thanks to modern search engines and databases, all the players have access to almost the same resources. But what will set the winner apart from the rest is his ability to recall from past games and remember the move-order in time to negate the opening preparation of his rival on a given day.

Thanks to the proactive approach of Carlsen in the past decade, the younger players who have modelled their game on the style of the Norwegian, the days of dull, dreary draws seem well and truly over. No middle-game position is deemed to be heading for a certain draw. Each one is alert and waiting to seize the opportunity that presents itself. That’s what has made chess so exciting in Carlsen’s era.

With three Indians and two Americans on the field, it was ensured that two players of the same nationality did not face each other in the final round. Rounds 1 and 8 will see games involving players of the same nationality.

As a result, the action begins with Gukesh playing white against Vidit while Caruana faces Nakamura in the clash of the Americans.

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Praggnanandhaa will sit behind the white pieces against France’s Alireza Firouzja, someone Carlsen ranked very high. After moving out of his native country Iran, Firouzja has repeatedly drawn praise from the Norwegian for his style of play.

Looking for a hat-trick of Candidates titles, Nepomniachtchi faces the surprise of the Candidates, Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov, who finished fourth in the World Cup and made it to this field after Carlsen chose to stay away. The Russian will play under the FIDE flag and look to regain the right to challenge Ding Liren.

Meanwhile, Abasov arrived in Toronto wearing a knee brace. He underwent knee surgery on his right leg, following a torn ACL while playing football a month ago. He looked cheerful and revealed that Azerbaijan’s No. 1 player Shakhriyar Mamedyarov would be his ‘second’ for the event.

Though the experts do not tip any of the three debutants from India to win the tournament, it should serve as an added motivation for the trio to keep punching way above their weight.