If his loss to world champion Magnus Carlsen in their lopsided title match last year is having any hangover effects, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi is hiding them well.
The Russian star racked up a stunning four wins in the first half of the eight-grandmaster, 14-round FIDE Candidates tournament now underway in Madrid to pick Carlsen’s next challenger, and remains in the driver’s seat after holding American pursuer GM Fabiano Caruana to a draw with Black in Monday’s Round 9. The draw preserves Nepo’s full-point lead over Caruana with just five games to go.
Caruana was set back by a loss to fellow American GM Hikaru Nakamura in Round 8 over the weekend, and pre-tournament favorites GM Ding Liren of China and Iranian-born Alireza Firouzja of France are treading water with below-50% scores.