Tactics in Elite Chess: Four Puzzles from the Candidates Rounds 5-8

The FIDE Candidates tournament, held every two years, decides the challenger for the ultimate crown of chess: the Classical World Championship title. Featuring eight elite players in a 14-round double round-robin, it is one of the most demanding events in the chess calendar, often providing a plethora of beautiful tactics and unexpected blunders. In this blog, I present four positions from games played during Rounds 5 through 8 where one side needs to play only moves to draw or win. Good luck and have fun!

Position 1: Hikaru Nakamura - Javokhir Sindarov (Round 5)

After four rounds, Javokhir remains in the lead following a spectacular victory against the pre-tournament favourite, Fabiano Caruana. In contrast, Hikaru, the top seed, is on a minus-one score and in order to keep his chances, he had to take down Sindarov with the white pieces. In this game, Hikaru opted for the extremely tactical and complex Marshall Gambit in the Triangle System, where he played the infrequent 10.Bf3. Despite this variation being extremely uncommon, Sindarov’s preparation allowed him to find the best continuation, surprising Hikaru with 12...O-O. Hikaru claimed this opening wasn’t “in the files”, resulting in him taking a 67-minute think, ultimately resulting in him playing the dubious 13.h4. By this point, there was only one move that allowed him to equalize. Can you find this move and the following sequence of moves? (This puzzle is extremely difficult)

Position 2: Wei Yi - Javokhir Sindarov (Round 6)

In this game, Sindarov was red hot after another impressive victory, this time against the top speed: Hikaru Nakamura, and hoped to extend his lead further. The game began with the Vienna opening, an extremely rare opening in top-level classical chess, particularly in the Candidates. Although Sindarov was not extremely well-prepared, the line which Wei Yi played was not critical, and there were many ways in which black could equalize. After an interesting pawn sacrifice from black, Wei Yi spent nearly 50 moves on 18.Bxf6, putting him in severe time pressure for the rest of the game. Sindarov quickly took advantage of the time situation and complicated matters, ultimately forcing the position into an endgame where white had to be extremely precise to draw. In an attempt to play faster, Wei Yi blunders. Can you find the move that enabled Sindarov to have a score of +5 in the toughest classical tournament of the year?

Position 3: Javokhir Sindarov - Anish Giri (Round 7)

Despite Sindarov running away with the lead, Giri, who was in second place, was determined to give him a hard time. The game began with a well-known variation in the Ragozin Defense where both players blitzed out well-known theory until move 12, where Sindarov deviated from theory with 12...exd4. This took Giri by surprise, and is reflected through the time situation where he was down an hour going into a minor piece and rook endgame. This allowed Sindarov to apply massive pressure on Giri, both on the board and on time, creating an immensely unpleasant situation for black. Although it seemed like Sindarov was going to squeeze out a win, Giri defended perfectly until the very end. However, on move 44, Giri could have played a move which forced a draw on the spot, but he failed to find this move and the game continued on for another 40 moves. Can you spot this fascinating tactic for black?

Position 4: Hikaru Nakamura - Fabiano Caruana (Round 8)

There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Hikaru beating Fabiano with white in classical chess. Today, there were no exceptions. The game started off with the Symmetrical English, but very quickly, both players steered away from known theory, beginning with the rare 6.Bf4. The middlegame which arose seemed quite balanced with both sides trading off their knights; however, practically, it was always easier for white to play. Furthermore, Hikaru’s opening surprise had gotten him a decent time edge, which he used to apply more pressure. Ultimately, Fabiano blundered in the endgame, allowing Hikaru to infiltrate and dominate the black king with his rooks. Can you find the move which secured Hikaru the win?