Nakamura Overcomes Caruana, Leads With Esipenko, Vidit Before Last Round

GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Vidit Gujrathi, and Andrey Esipenko lead the FIDE Grand Swiss 2023 with 7.5 points going into the last round. They beat, respectively, GMs Fabiano Caruana, Bogdan-Daniel Deac, and Parham Maghsoodloo. As a historic feat, there were seven (!) decisive results on the top seven boards.

In the Women's, IM Vaishali Rameshbabu won against former World Champion GM Tan Zhongyi. She leads the tournament with eight points and has qualified for the Candidates with a round to spare, while GM Anna Muzychuk is a half-point behind. 

The final round begins on Sunday, November 5 at 9:15 a.m. ET / 15:15 CET / 7:45 p.m. IST. 

• Open: Top 7 Boards Are All Decisive
• Women's: Vaishali Qualifies For Candidates With Round To Spare 

6 Players Fight For 2 Candidates Spots On Last Day In Open

As we prepare for the final round of the tournament, tiebreaks will be critical. There will be no head-to-head matches.  Ties will be broken in the order of the following:

Tiebreaks

1. 1. Average Rating of Opponents Cut 1
   2. Buchholz Cut 1
   3. Buchholz
   4. Direct encounter
   5. Drawing of lots

Only six players are still eligible for the two Candidates spots offered in this tournament. Esipenko has the best tiebreaks, meaning he automatically qualifies if he wins with Black against GM Anish Giri.

The other players will hope for an Esipenko loss on board one. The players who can still qualify are Esipenko, Nakamura, Vidit, GM Aleksandr Predke, and GM Arjun Erigaisi. GM Vincent Keymer is the last possible player, but he will need to beat GM Fabiano Caruana with Black and have Esipenko lose his game in round 11.

Odds Of Winning Tournament / Qualifying For Candidates 

Open: Top 7 Boards Are All Decisive  

Nakamura, against Caruana on board one, was the first to win on the top-three boards, where six tied leaders were matched.

Leko put Nakamura's latest victory into perspective: "Hikaru bounced back against Fabiano in the Candidates in his white game, then he has beaten him in Stavanger, and now he is beating him again. This is incredible. I don't really recall anyone beating Fabiano in three very important games ever in their career, but here it's happening within one year."

I don't really recall anyone beating Fabiano in three very important games ever in their career, but here it's happening within one year.

—Peter Leko 

"Lately, in online and over the board, Hikaru has held the supremacy," said Naroditsky earlier on the broadcast about this all-American matchup, adding Nakamura's success in their online encounters as well, the Speed Chess Championship, and the Chessable Masters. 

Although Nakamura just evened their lifetime score with this game, +8 -8 =33, he's won all three of their latest classical encounters.

Nakamura And Esipenko Win With Dark-Square Dominance

The Four Knights Scotch is not the most ambitious opening White can play, but after 10.h3, Leko announced: "I think this is a clear sign that he wants to get a game!" After 17.a4! Rfe8, Nakamura commented in his recap: "I think Fabiano sort of fell asleep at the wheel. I think he assumed that in this game, I'd be happy with a draw." 

I think he assumed that in this game, I'd be happy with a draw.
—Hikaru Nakamura

There are about 5 OTB games after 14...Ne4 in this line, and two of those games are mine from White. I drew both the games with no inspiration.

I remember facing this in 2014 - at that time it was a totally new idea to play like this as Black. I got nothing and remember feeling… https://t.co/UqlrpBzfuJ

— Srinath Narayanan (@srinathchess) November 4, 2023

Similar to their last encounter, the reigning U.S. champion ran into trouble quickly after the opening moves, and Nakamura's pieces took aim at the king, especially on the dark squares. GM Dejan Bojkov analyzes the Game of the Day below.

You can listen to Nakamura's analysis in the video below.

Also, why is GM Alireza Firouzja rooting for Nakamura in the thumbnail? If the American GM claims his Candidates spot by winning the tournament, the French number-one will have his shot at entering the Candidates by rating.

Curiously, on board three Esipenko also won with an attack on the dark squares against Maghsoodloo, thanks to his unopposed bishop. 

The best move of the game is one that wasn't played. 28.Bg7!! would have ended the game more or less on the spot, a beautiful illustration of the dark-square grip—admittedly, if played, it's also a move that might raise some eyebrows.

Vidit Wins With Black, Four More Decisive Games On Top Boards

Seven decisive games on the top seven boards were quite a sight to behold, and many decisive moments occurred near move 40. "It's complete madness," said Leko. "I don't think that this ever happened before in any top tournament or in any of the Grand Swisses, and I don't believe that it will ever happen again because this is very unique."

I don't think that this ever happened before in any top tournament or in any of the Grand Swisses.

—Peter Leko

The most significant of these remaining games, of course, was Deac-Vidit, where the Indian grandmaster won to join the leading group. The time scramble before move 40 was hectic, but he never gave up the advantage.

"It was not easy to play for a win with the black pieces, and I managed to put pressure and also convert, so I couldn't have asked for more," he said after the game.

Now world number-17 on the live rating list, he's been on a roll since losing in round one.

A half-point behind, Keymer, Arjun, and Predke, all won their games, along with Giri who's a point behind the leaders.

GM Hans Niemann vs. Giri was the last to finish, and by move 69 Giri had under two minutes against the U.S. grandmaster's 40 minutes. Niemann had a few chances, especially after he played 66.Ke7!! (only move), but the Dutch number-one ground out the victory. 

Despite the hard-fought win, Giri will not finish in the top two here. He will still have a shot at qualifying for the Candidates through the FIDE Circuit, where he is number-four, behind GM Wesley So.

The final position in Arjun's victory against GM Sam Sevian looks like a work of art. The Indian GM won the pawn race with a checkmate threat at the end.

Predke overcame GM Yuriy Kuzubov in an explosion of tactics in the middlegame, while Keymer's g-pawn advance was reminiscent of his round-seven win against GM Anton Korobov. 

Just like his win in round seven against Anton Korobov, Vincent Keymer starts a kingside attack with 20.g5!.#FIDEGrandSwiss pic.twitter.com/AiQiisFRir

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 4, 2023

An honorable mention on the lower boards is GM Abhimanyu Mishra's upset victory over former world number-two Vasyl Ivanchuk.

The games on the top-four boards are the most relevant for the two Candidates spots offered. Regardless of color, the six key players will be interested in a fight.

Round 11 Pairings

Round 10 Standings | Top 20 

(Full results here.)

Women's: Vaishali Qualifies For Candidates With Round To Spare 

Vaishali's brother, GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, qualified for the 2024 Candidates by finishing second in the FIDE World Cup. After her victory on Saturday, they are the first sibling pair ever to make it to both respective Candidates tournaments together.

Interesting coincidence: Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali, the chess-playing siblings are currently ranked #14 in the World Open and World Women's rankings respectively! #FIDEGrandSwiss

Pragg's live rating: 2736.9
Vaishali's live rating: 2492.2 pic.twitter.com/kjHbjeg05S

— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) November 4, 2023

Anna Muzychuk is the only other player within striking distance to win the tournament. But seeing as she's already in the Candidates Tournament after finishing third in the Women's FIDE World Cup, Vaishali's spot is already guaranteed regardless of how she finishes.

Naroditsky described Vaishali's game this way: "You absolutely don't get the sense of an IM when you look at this game. You get the sense of a very seasoned, experienced, measured grandmaster." Leko's take was: "Brilliant and crushing victory by Vaishali!"

You absolutely don't get the sense of an IM when you look at this game. You get the sense of a very seasoned, experienced, measured grandmaster.
—Daniel Naroditsky

Her victory against Tan was an incisive lesson in playing against a king in the center of the board. 

Vaishali, who can earn the grandmaster title on Sunday if she wins with Black, said: "The grandmaster title has been a big dream for me since my childhood." You can listen to her analysis below.

Anna Muzychuk, on board two, defeated IM Deysi Cori with a deadly attack in a queenless middlegame. She is the only player half a point behind the leader, followed by IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul with seven points. 

There are still another four players with 6.5 points who will fight for that second Candidates spot on Sunday. They are, in order of tiebreaks, IM Leya Garifullina, Tan, GM Antoaneta Stefanova, and GM Pia Cramling. The Candidates is also a possibility for players on six points only if Black wins on board one.

If Munguntuul beats Vaishali on demand, she will secure that second Candidates spot—end of story. A draw on board one opens the door for the others. Just as in the Open section, we will see plenty of fighting chess.

Round 11 Pairings

Round 10 Standings | Top 20 

The 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss (FGS) is one of the events of the FIDE World Championship cycle with the top two players qualifying for the 2024 Candidates Tournament. The FGS started on October 25 at 9:30 a.m. ET/15:30 CEST/19:00 IST and features a $460,000 prize fund.

The 2023 FIDE Women's Grand Swiss (FWGS) features a $140,000 prize fund and runs concurrently. The top two players qualify for the 2024 Women's Candidates Tournament.

Previous Coverage:

• Maghsoodloo, Nakamura Join Leaders
• Esipenko Sacs Piece On Move 8, Plays Brilliancy
• 'Express Train' Vidit Leads Open
• Nakamura Holds Co-leader Esipenko, 5 Players Join Lead
• Assaubayeva Leads Women's, Nakamura Scores Hat Trick In Open
• Esipenko Leads In Open, 4-Way Tie In Women's
• Vaishali Plays Brilliancy As Anna Muzychuk, Tan Take Lead
• Caruana Beats Niemann, Returns To 2800 Club
• Caruana Leads Pack Of 32 Winners
• FIDE Grand Swiss 2023: Who Will Qualify For A Shot At World Title?