In the sixties, Bobby Fischer denounced that the Russians acted as a team in the Candidates tournaments. They used to be in the majority and it was not uncommon for them to make boards among themselves, to avoid wear and tear. And if necessary, they even knew who they had to lose against so that the chosen grandmaster or the one who was most fit would escape in the classification. At least that was the suspicion of the American, who forced FIDE to change the format of the tournament. He abandoned the league system to move on to the playoffs, which were impossible to manipulate.
Six decades later, the Candidates is played in Toronto again like when the Russians dominated the chess world, only now the Indians are the most numerous. From what we have seen so far in Toronto, in just three days it has been proven that, If they play as a team, their strategy is diabolical.: burn all the boards they play on, even when they face each other, so that their rivals run away.
Yesterday, the protagonists were the brothers Vaishali and Pragg Rameshbabu, 22 and 18 years old. It is already unprecedented that a boy and a girl from the same family compete at the same time in the male and female Candidates. They are always accompanied by their mother, one of the most recognizable and beloved people on the circuit.. That lady has done something well, who at the very least has instilled an amazing capacity for effort and sacrifice in her children, not to mention the immense talent transmitted.
On the second day of the tournament, both lost, but on the third they showed up with the same joy as always. They took risks like only great champions or those who have nothing to lose do.. Pragg defeated his compatriot Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, who the previous day had knocked down world number 3, Hikaru Nakamura. Even better is the way he did it: playing an opening so aggressive that no one in the elite dares to practice it. “After his defeat, you have to have balls to play something like that,” commented the Spanish grandmaster. Miguel Santos in the broadcast of Chess24 in Spanish
His first achievement was not to get lost; The second was to orient himself in a diabolical position, against a rival on a roll and loaded with morale. The two are playing a chess that combines courage and quality; They are a breath of fresh air in modern chess, which sometimes errs on the side of caution, because everyone is so good that it is risky to allow the slightest joy. It is difficult to consider them favorites, like their compatriot Gukesh, the youngest in the tournament at 17 years old, because they do not have as much experience as Caruana, Nepo and Nakamura, nor the press of Alireza Firouzja.
In the women’s tournament, Vaishali followed in her brother’s footsteps. Bulgaria’s Salimova planted the rocky Russian defense, but The young Indian woman had the explosives ready. On move 14 he sacrificed a knight that blew up Black’s castling. The fight lasted 33 moves, but was decided long before.
Ranking after 3 rounds:
Absolute candidates:
- Gukesh, Nepo y Caruana: 2 puntos
- Vidit and Pragg: 1.5 points
- Firouzja, Nakamura y Abasov: 1 point
Female candidates:
- Tan Zhongi: 2.5 points
- Goryachkina: 2 puntos
- Vaishali, Koneru y Lagno: 1,5 puntos
- Muzychuk, Salimova and Lei Tingjie: 1 punto