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After the 12th round of pulsating action at the Candidates Chess 2024, the Indian grandmaster, Dommaraju Gukesh has rejoined the tournament lead with 7.5 points alongside the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi and the American Hikaru Nakamura. The 17-year-old went on to defeat the Azerbaijani Nijat Abasov in a quality endgame performance to stay firmly in contention to win the tournament.
Following a creative opening with the white pieces from Nijat Abasov, the queen trade happened soon enough, which led to Dommaraju Gukesh winning a pawn in the endgame before finishing off his opponent in style. When asked about which factor is going to determine the winner of the Candidates Chess 2024, he said, “Whoever plays good chess in the last two rounds and manages to remain focused, I think that person will have a pretty good chance."
Dommaraju Gukesh also gave his thoughts on his compatriots, Vidit Gujrathi and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, in regards to them needing to wait a couple of more years to win the Candidates Chess tournament. He remarked, “Well, it's an individual tournament and the only person I care about is myself, so yeah, not really.”
In the women’s competition of the Candidates Chess 2024 tournament, the Indian Vaishali Rameshbabu was the only winner in the 12th round, getting the better of the Ukrainian Anna Muzychuk, to get herself within half a point to be tied for third place. After the Chinese duo of Tan Zhongyi (8) and Lei Tingjie (7.5) drew their matches, they were separated by half a point at the top of the points table.