Unveiling the Unorthodox : 2024 FIDE Candidates Round Three Short Recap
I didn’t want to write anything about round three; I wasn't really paying attention, maybe because of the topsy-turvy day yesterday at round two. But you are reading this right now because I didn’t go to sleep; I kept two tabs open, where, in the first tab, I was binge-watching Vidit Vs. Pragg, and on another one, I was simultaneously writing this so-called short recap.
When I was a child, we used to make up a funny logic: If A equals B, and B equals C, then it should be A equals C. Once again, suddenly at this point, I remembered this and chuckled. This very childish equation is so relevant for the Candidates 2024. How?
Yesterday in round two, Vidit defeated Hikaru, and today in round three, Pragg has defeated Vidit. So imaginarily (I wish this comes true), Prag already has defeated Hikaru; the game between these two is going to take place tomorrow! Funny, isn't it?
Let’s get to the short recap. Nijat Abasov was able to hold Hikaru to a draw. It was rather a boring game as neither of them was really in danger.
Gukesh, with the white pieces, employed Catalan today against Ian. Similar to Hikaru’s game, the match went on to be a straightforward double Bishop endgame that resulted in a draw.
Alireza showed tremendous opening preparation against the Preparation King Fabi; the Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack finally led them to a threefold repetition.
The only stellar game of this round is from Prag and Vidit, the two Indian souls. There is so much to talk about this game, numerous moves that kept us on the edge, and the amazing calculation skill of the Wizard from Chennai. Yesterday, Vidit showed his true colors against Hikaru hoping to maintain the glory today also. The votes were really towards Vidit, but who knew Prag would go for the most unorthodox setup already on move 5: f5!!
Yes, the move deserves a double exclamation mark, as GM Danya mentioned Pragg's opening move as :
"one of the most unorthodox I've ever seen in a Candidates Tournament!"
Finding 10. D6 was also one of the crucial parts of the game; by move 20, Pragg had already created a claustrophobic situation on the board. So, kind of forcefully, Vidit had to play 20. h4?!
The game had a lot of drama; the evaluation bar kept falling, commentators were waiting for the resignation from Vidit; at any point of the game, they both would shake hands.
However, we saw a couple more moves. Vidit was in time trouble, but it didn’t matter anymore. With three extra pawns and active rooks on the board, it was anyone’s game!
