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In the 13th round of the Candidates Chess 2024, Dommaraju Gukesh, the Indian grandmaster, defeated Alireza Firouzja, to take the sole lead of the tournament with just one round remaining. The 17-year-old has 8.5 points in the Candidates Chess 2024, just half a point ahead of Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana, who are in joint second place.
During the early exchanges in the Italian Opening, Alireza Firouzja had the initiative before his kingside pawn storm put Dommaraju Gukesh under some pressure. Although the Indian managed to neutralise the attack from the Frenchman, the subsequent queen trade helped him in getting ahead before he secured the big win.
When asked about his excitement about being a step away from winning the Candidates Chess 2024 tournament, Dommaraju Gukesh said, “I've been eager and excited the same way from the first round... In general, my mental state has been the same.” He also spoke about his upcoming match against Hikaru Nakamura in the 14th and final round of the tournament, and said, “I guess I'll go with the same strategy and play a good game.”
In the women’s side of the Candidates Chess 2024, Tan Zhongyi (8.5) is a point ahead of his Chinese compatriot Lei Tingjie (7.5) after she drew her match against the Russian Aleksandra Goryachkina. The Indian Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated Lei Tingjie to hand the initiative to Tan Zhongyi while keeping herself in third place alongside three other competitors with 6.5 points while the final round of matches remained.
