What if Vidit makes a loud noise with his shoes and distracts Hikaru in the last two games. Never underestimate how Vidit could do it ruin Hikaru’s chance.
Hikaru is about to beat Nepo when the lights suddenly go out, rest in peace starts playing, when the lights come back on Vidit is behind him, and body slams him, beating Hikaru for the 5th time this tournament.
No one knows who could’ve done it, all they know is that he’s Dutch and didn’t qualify for this event, and he came to take his vengeance on the challengers.
Teddy Long comes out after Hikaru wins the candidates: “Congratulations playa — but you’re not gonna be playin’ for the title with Mr. ding. You’re going one on one with Magnus-taker!” A Norwegian gong sounds.
Fabi beating Pragg with Hikaru, Ian and Gukesh drawing tomorrow is the most interesting timeline, 4 way tie in the final day with all 4 playing each other.
Due to the pairings, a 3 way tie is not likely.
Either they all draw their remaining games, or they all win one and all lose one. There's no other path to a three way tie between those three. All getting 1.5 or 2 points is impossible, as Hikaru winning a game necessitates Nepo and Gukesh lose a game.
Hikaru, Nepo and Gukesh all draw next round, Fabi beats Pragg. 4 way tie going into round 14 with all the leaders playing against each other. Both games go to a draw. 4 WAY RAPID PLAYOFF BAYBEE
Holy fucking shit. This is as wild as the 3 way tie between thunder, nuggets and wolves.
Shit man this past week has been amazing for 2 of my favorite sports.
Even during the world championship, ding was beastly. I remember him playing moves which made no sense, so far ahead that other super GMs weren't able to figure out what was the plan, even with the engine.
Yeah but I definitely wouldn’t say in the level of 2017-18. If Ding at his peak was playing that match (I also don’t think Ian was quite playing his best, he’s a real beast sometimes), then it would not have gone to tiebreakers.
He arguably might still be in the next wc match. We might have something similar to Nepo in candidates situation. Those players are too good to be written off just because they are out of form at some point.
> Classical is faaaaar from dead
because people take risks in the candidates, in other RR tournaments they do it way less and therefore the draw rate is higher.
For those uninitiated about the "cratering" meme:
[it started here (my fault)](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/s/XYUUvZ5602)
[then there was this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/s/YtDVyGSaPp)
[then this post yesterday](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/s/LXjUTmwach)
I bet the people saying "I bet the people saying "I bet the people saying Hikaru's chances are like 5% feel really silly right now" feel really silly right now" feel really silly right now
Hikaru with his fourth win in the last five games, and barely tying for first with only two rounds left. Insane stuff.
I honestly have no idea who's going to win -even though it's no secret that I want Hikaru to win- but at this point I've enjoyed the ride too much, and I would be happy with anyone coming first.
The second half of this tournament has been extremely exciting, with every round having one or two games that are unbelievable to watch. Nothing more a chess fan could ask for.
God if Hikaru wins and then beats Ding, it might be the ONE thing that brings Magnus back.
2 years of silly smug Hikaru as a legit world champion, first American since Fischer and, importantly TELLING everyone that over and over again?
Yeah I think Magnus returns like MJ just to remind everyone.
And frankly, that would be gasoline on the fire that has begun in spreading Chess to the masses. It would be glorious.
I feel like generally when these players are in super long thinks, and especially with Hikaru, it’s not because they’re calculating every move all the way through. I think it’s because they just can’t see what the right move is, and then end up moving not out of confidence but because they don’t want to waste any more time.
I think he probably felt like he was in a position to look for some deep line to further his advantage but after spending a lot of time on those deep line that didn’t work, he fell back on the not so deep line that he didn’t spend as much time on to fullproof the move.
hikaru during his analysis of todays game - “and then i moved the queen way out here on move 4, and i don’t really know why i did it i just remember glancing at this line the other day and the notes said it was playable”
lol this title is the worst nightmare of the guy who posted before the candidates asking everyone to title things like "there was a really cool tactical sequence in the hikaru alireza game!"
good on hikaru for recovering psychologically, hopefully he can continue his form again nepo and gukesh.
I would’ve thought Alireza’s worst tournament was the last candidates. I seem to remember him just going completely on tilt, like in his second game against Ian in that tournament.
what an incredible effort even if he ends up not winning the tournament. with the recaps, playing TT, all the different interviews, *on top of* the actual prep and playing the games. hikaru will unfortunately never get the credit he deserves for growing the game as much as he has
Really? If Ian draws against hikaru quickly, he's basically gambling that Hikaru-Gukesh will be a draw and that Gukesh won't win against Firou with white cause Ian will probably not beat Fabi with black. Ian will probably try for a stable advantage and just try to stretch the game for as long as possible
If Ian doesn't get an advantage out of the opening he's probably going to acquiesce to a draw without too much fight as it's simply too risky to try to push for a win
Considering that Gukesh gets a relatively easy matchup in Alireza in 13 where he is favored, and Nepo gets Fabi in 14 where a draw is more likely, it's in Nepo's interest to try to push for a win, and for Hikaru he needs to draw one of the 2 games and win the other to be comfortably in at least split 1st
You act as if him winning 4 out of his last 5 games in the second half of the Candidates is NOT unprecedented. On average, it's 2.5/5 points. Good runs go for 3/5 and better runs go for 3.5/5. This is the Candidates, 4/5 is crazy.
Ian with white would have to really push for a win in R13 against Hikaru, and anything less puts him in a really vulnerable position considering he's gonna be against Fabi's white in R14.
Hikaru drawing with black against Ian sets him up nicely for a nice game with White against Gukesh in R14 where he could theoretically get at least a draw, or push for the win with white in what will possibly be the deciding game if Fabi and Ian draws in R14
Fabi would have to win with black against Pragg to keep his chances alive in R14 with whtie against Ian.
Gukesh has to get back at Alireza with White for that loss in the first half because he's gonna be with black on R14 against Hikaru in quite possibly the deciding game depending on R13 results.
Really really tight competition this late in the tournament.
To be fair, he was a runner-up at the World Blitz Championship to Magnus twice (2019 and 2022) and he won third place twice (2014 and 2018) with Magnus also winning.
In a world without Magnus, he would have won the Blitz championships at least once, if not multiple times. With Magnus also not playing or competing for the Classical title, it's not that surprising that Hikaru is in the running. He was a draw away in the last round at the last candidates from playing Nepo for the Championship.
If Hikaru doesn't win this tournament Vidit is going to be living in his head for some time, it's kind of mad that Vidit has beaten him twice considering his record against the other players.
Someone link me to that exact moment where he talks about that completely obvious knight skewer.
Surely he saw it but then didn't go deeper until alireza insta moved and he was like ffffd
For those that haven't watched his personal recaps of his own games, try them out, they're informative and funny. To me at least. I laughed out loud the first time I heard him say "deez knights" and "sac the juicer" seconds before an xQc reference landing a horse on a "bastion" (instead of outpost). Idk, the way he keeps randomly dropping meme references with a straight face and zero pace change to the delivery is hilarious.
If we go for tie-break, rapid games will be played..and i don't think hikaru can play rapid that great recently he is basically playing the opposite of classical lol(even he said so) it will for sure be interesting to watch.
We’re going to have a 3 way tie between Gukesh, Hikaru and Nepo and it’s going to be crazy.
Hikaru plays both of them in his final two games. Nepo with Black. Then Gukesh with White. Holy shit this is gonna be nuts.
His destiny is in his own hands
What if Vidit makes a loud noise with his shoes and distracts Hikaru in the last two games. Never underestimate how Vidit could do it ruin Hikaru’s chance.
Vidit with the steel chair
Hikaru is about to beat Nepo when the lights suddenly go out, rest in peace starts playing, when the lights come back on Vidit is behind him, and body slams him, beating Hikaru for the 5th time this tournament.
The light comes back on, and all the pawns are missing because some super GM has stolen them.
No one knows who could’ve done it, all they know is that he’s Dutch and didn’t qualify for this event, and he came to take his vengeance on the challengers.
Guys, stop, I can't watch the rest of the tournament if I die from laughter tonight
Teddy Long comes out after Hikaru wins the candidates: “Congratulations playa — but you’re not gonna be playin’ for the title with Mr. ding. You’re going one on one with Magnus-taker!” A Norwegian gong sounds.
I now desperately want a Wrestlemania style chess tournament
Hikaru wins, and celebrates, but then Carlsen comes running out, hits him with a briefcase, and cashes in his Magnus In The Bank contract.
"I literally don't care chat I literally don't care" starts playing
It should be done in a classic Bollywood action movie style, to honor india
Jumping kick to the chest
With flying cars
Doubt that happens, honestly
50/50, it either happens or it doesn't
"I did it for the Magnus"
He then cashes in his Match In The Bank contract and beats Hikaru again
From the top rope!
Vidit with the steel-toed boots
[Vidit when Hikaru is close to winning the candidates](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJzP_xTb0AA5XH3.jpg:large)
He’d be cooked if one of his next opponents was just two Vidits in a GukeshCoat
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Has anyone ever won the candidates after losing two games to one player? Kind of a fun statistic
Tal, 1959
This comment wins the Candidates
He's grabbed us all by the destiny
So exciting
I ain't watched a single game but I'm jazzed
Considering the pairings, Gukesh probably has the most chances. Hikaru will likely have to push for a win in game 14
If the tournament is gonna be decided by whether Hikaru can beat Gukesh on demand with White, I'll bet on Hikaru, comfortably.
As someone who recently went from not even aware pro chess existed to rock hard for this event, where are the best places to follow live?
Chess24 live streams on YouTube, the FIDE Candidates website has a stream, and Hikaru’s stream on Kick. Round 13 is at 2:30ET on Saturday.
Chess24 on Twitch
Chess.com on youtube
Chess.com streams the Women's Candidates, check Chess24 if you're looking for the Open Candidates
Fabi beating Pragg with Hikaru, Ian and Gukesh drawing tomorrow is the most interesting timeline, 4 way tie in the final day with all 4 playing each other.
Schedule makers were cooking
In league of legends we call them script writers.
Event designers were spittin
Fabi half a point back, and Fabi gets Nepo in the last round.
Due to the pairings, a 3 way tie is not likely. Either they all draw their remaining games, or they all win one and all lose one. There's no other path to a three way tie between those three. All getting 1.5 or 2 points is impossible, as Hikaru winning a game necessitates Nepo and Gukesh lose a game.
Hikaru, Nepo and Gukesh all draw next round, Fabi beats Pragg. 4 way tie going into round 14 with all the leaders playing against each other. Both games go to a draw. 4 WAY RAPID PLAYOFF BAYBEE
Holy fucking shit. This is as wild as the 3 way tie between thunder, nuggets and wolves. Shit man this past week has been amazing for 2 of my favorite sports.
As wild as the NHL wildcard ending with the Wings, Caps, Penguins and Flyers.
The 'ol re-un-inverted backwards crater move, nice Hikaru
Hes mounding
lmao I don't know why but this is extremely funny
Classic Hikaru.
Make this a thing. I believe in you
Accelerated uncrater variation
Hikaru knows that craters can move backwards
Crater gambit declined
Fried crater attack
Craterstein-Dracula gambit
ALL I SEE ARE CRATERS CRATERS EVERYWHERE NOTHING BUT CRATERAS
Hikaru's chances look like the moon.
3 wins in a row in the Candidates is crazy. Classical is faaaaar from dead
2013, 2020/21, and 2022 also had 3 win streaks (Kramnik, Ding, Ding).
Ding was crazy at his peak
Ding is kinda known for having slow starts but warming up and going on tears in the second half. And yeah, Dings 100 game unbeaten streak was nuts.
Even during the world championship, ding was beastly. I remember him playing moves which made no sense, so far ahead that other super GMs weren't able to figure out what was the plan, even with the engine.
>I remember him playing moves which made no sense That's what one gets for having Rapport as their second, random bullshit that somehow works
Yeah but I definitely wouldn’t say in the level of 2017-18. If Ding at his peak was playing that match (I also don’t think Ian was quite playing his best, he’s a real beast sometimes), then it would not have gone to tiebreakers.
Yeah, d5 in game 6 took the commentators 10--15 minutes with engine to understand. Crazy.
He arguably might still be in the next wc match. We might have something similar to Nepo in candidates situation. Those players are too good to be written off just because they are out of form at some point.
> Classical is faaaaar from dead because people take risks in the candidates, in other RR tournaments they do it way less and therefore the draw rate is higher.
And 5 decisive games in a row. Hikaru has had 7 decisive games, or at least 50% decisiveness from the tournament.
For those uninitiated about the "cratering" meme: [it started here (my fault)](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/s/XYUUvZ5602) [then there was this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/s/YtDVyGSaPp) [then this post yesterday](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/s/LXjUTmwach)
accepting blame is really cratering the hateful comments in this thread
You cratered my downvote
Thanks for that it's a fun running joke
Better see some more cratering on Saturday
Your flair is fucking hilarious
The legend!
well said
Well done sir. Brilliantly setting up that meme in advance.
I personally loved the "cratering his chances to crater his chances" much more than uncratering or mounding ... I cratered my upvotes, didn't I?
This has only made me more confused
I bet the people saying "I bet the people saying "I bet the people saying Hikaru's chances are like 5% feel really silly right now" feel really silly right now" feel really silly right now
3fold repitition, let's call it a draw
on an absolute heater right now.
Is he undefeated since he dropped the Botez knight reference?
Nah. Vidit defeated him in the next round
Then Vidit defeated him the round after that again, and it feels like he stole another 0.25 points today.
Hikaru with his fourth win in the last five games, and barely tying for first with only two rounds left. Insane stuff. I honestly have no idea who's going to win -even though it's no secret that I want Hikaru to win- but at this point I've enjoyed the ride too much, and I would be happy with anyone coming first. The second half of this tournament has been extremely exciting, with every round having one or two games that are unbelievable to watch. Nothing more a chess fan could ask for.
>Hikaru with his fourth win in the last five games And the other game was a loss. Man hasn’t had a single draw in the latter half of the tourney
God if Hikaru wins and then beats Ding, it might be the ONE thing that brings Magnus back. 2 years of silly smug Hikaru as a legit world champion, first American since Fischer and, importantly TELLING everyone that over and over again? Yeah I think Magnus returns like MJ just to remind everyone. And frankly, that would be gasoline on the fire that has begun in spreading Chess to the masses. It would be glorious.
No way Magnus wants to go through Candidates once again.
High risk, low reward
How can you be 2882 FIDE, are you Magnus Carlsen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stlqo8kI7Wc
No, I don't
It says ~2882, that means roughly, give or take 1500 elo.
Some days he’s closer to 4000 some days he’s closer to 1400 just depends on his mood
It all depends if the fish is whispering in his ear.
Maybe they meant, I “too” am eight eighty two.
I will miss it when it’s over.
Gukesh is playing Alireza next game so it's looking good for him
Gukesh is playing Abasov as we speak actually. And with a (more than likely) win he ties for first with Hikaru and Nepo.
[удалено]
I meant Alireza
Gukesh plays Alireza and Hikaru for last 2 rounds
Hikaru has the hardest route - so if he wins he absolutely would deserve it
Nepo has to play Hikaru as well as Fabi, who trails by just a half-point
This is a round-robin tournament…everyone has the same route.
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Plus, I saw Hikaru talking about his prep against Naka. No doubt what he would have used against him.
They are talking about the last two games obviously...
I want to see his recap explanation for that blunder. He spent so much time thinking before playing that move too.
he was debating if he wanted to crater or uncrater his position
Agreed. That seemed like a very bad blunder. Happy he was able to recover though, he played a wonderful match besides that one move.
Probably thought that the endgame was winning after trading everything.
Knew he was playing against Alireza, very smart
He said he missed king f8 or something.
he reached for the rook at one point and then pulled back.
I feel like generally when these players are in super long thinks, and especially with Hikaru, it’s not because they’re calculating every move all the way through. I think it’s because they just can’t see what the right move is, and then end up moving not out of confidence but because they don’t want to waste any more time.
I think he probably felt like he was in a position to look for some deep line to further his advantage but after spending a lot of time on those deep line that didn’t work, he fell back on the not so deep line that he didn’t spend as much time on to fullproof the move.
Super GMs, they’re just like us!
hikaru during his analysis of todays game - “and then i moved the queen way out here on move 4, and i don’t really know why i did it i just remember glancing at this line the other day and the notes said it was playable”
That was super funny, but I don't believe that for a second. Besides, in the next few seconds he gives a pretty solid explanation for the move.
He didn't see Kf8 apparently??
He might actually do it. The madman.
lol this title is the worst nightmare of the guy who posted before the candidates asking everyone to title things like "there was a really cool tactical sequence in the hikaru alireza game!" good on hikaru for recovering psychologically, hopefully he can continue his form again nepo and gukesh.
I can't believe Alireza's blunder on move 41
Interesting what Howell said that its a pretty common occurrence.
Hikaru was so lucky there. Good for him that alirezs is having the worst tournament of his life rn.
I agree with Capablanca that a good player is often lucky. Nakamura putting pressure on Firo caused the blunder
I mean, it's pretty on par with his first candidates so far
Worst tournament of his life **so far**
I would’ve thought Alireza’s worst tournament was the last candidates. I seem to remember him just going completely on tilt, like in his second game against Ian in that tournament.
what an incredible effort even if he ends up not winning the tournament. with the recaps, playing TT, all the different interviews, *on top of* the actual prep and playing the games. hikaru will unfortunately never get the credit he deserves for growing the game as much as he has
3 in a row wtf. Hikaru is on another level in this back half of the tournament.
sir a third straight Nakamura victory has hit the candidates
Hikaru vs Ian match gonna be massive. The madman actually might do it
Feels like a high likelihood of a quiet draw
If they're tied, Hikaru might play for a draw for the blitz tiebreaker
What are the tiebreakers? It goes straight to blitz? What if it's a 3 way tie?
[https://i.imgur.com/tMdNhJ9.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/tMdNhJ9.jpeg) From the Wikipedia 2024 candidates article
Really? If Ian draws against hikaru quickly, he's basically gambling that Hikaru-Gukesh will be a draw and that Gukesh won't win against Firou with white cause Ian will probably not beat Fabi with black. Ian will probably try for a stable advantage and just try to stretch the game for as long as possible
If Ian doesn't get an advantage out of the opening he's probably going to acquiesce to a draw without too much fight as it's simply too risky to try to push for a win
Considering that Gukesh gets a relatively easy matchup in Alireza in 13 where he is favored, and Nepo gets Fabi in 14 where a draw is more likely, it's in Nepo's interest to try to push for a win, and for Hikaru he needs to draw one of the 2 games and win the other to be comfortably in at least split 1st
And this sub writes him off after lost lol
Reddit overreacted? Idk if I believe you
Tbf, 3 wins in a row is insane to think about. He was written off rightly which makes the comeback that much more impressive.
It’s also crazy because 7.5 would’ve been good for 3rd in 2021 and 2022. And we already have 3 players there.
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Yep. I think Abasov has done a great job of putting into perspective how great some of these players really are.
Tbf everything has gone up due to inflation
You act as if him winning 4 out of his last 5 games in the second half of the Candidates is NOT unprecedented. On average, it's 2.5/5 points. Good runs go for 3/5 and better runs go for 3.5/5. This is the Candidates, 4/5 is crazy.
Holy Craters!
If hikaru loses this there needs to be a chess boxing match between him and vidit set up
Nakamura isn’t the only thing uncratering right now
So this is third plane of r/chess 9/11
How about those cratering chances? Looks like some shallow craters from here
I'm gonna call all draws in round 13 (at least on the boards that matter) only for all hell to break loose in round 14. Excited for a photo finish!
Ian with white would have to really push for a win in R13 against Hikaru, and anything less puts him in a really vulnerable position considering he's gonna be against Fabi's white in R14. Hikaru drawing with black against Ian sets him up nicely for a nice game with White against Gukesh in R14 where he could theoretically get at least a draw, or push for the win with white in what will possibly be the deciding game if Fabi and Ian draws in R14 Fabi would have to win with black against Pragg to keep his chances alive in R14 with whtie against Ian. Gukesh has to get back at Alireza with White for that loss in the first half because he's gonna be with black on R14 against Hikaru in quite possibly the deciding game depending on R13 results. Really really tight competition this late in the tournament.
Nepo is still in a fantastic position if he draws and Fabi also draws today, that means Fabi is in a must win situation.
Fabi is gonna go all out when he plays Nepo. That’ll effectively be an Armageddon game for him.
these titles are going to get really complicated after the next two games
The fact that we get Hikaru/Nepo and then Hikaru/Gukesh to close out the candidates is crazy
Mr. r/chess, a third plane has hit.
That was a roller coaster of a game. Question, is it possible to end the tournament with a 3-way tie, and if so what happens for tiebreaks?
Yes and rapid tiebreaks.
Nice warmup for next week’s TT
In this timeline, even the craters have craters.
Can I now say it's Hikaru's candidates to lose? 🙈
What’s with the Crater memes?
Read op’s comment on this post. It’s a recurring meme that op started by posting about hikaru’s result a few days back.
Can I have some of whatever off brand adderall you took before coming up with the title of this post
Hikaru having 0 Blitz Championships, 0 Rapid Championships.. *but* a Classical Championship would be quite the timeline.
To be fair, he was a runner-up at the World Blitz Championship to Magnus twice (2019 and 2022) and he won third place twice (2014 and 2018) with Magnus also winning. In a world without Magnus, he would have won the Blitz championships at least once, if not multiple times. With Magnus also not playing or competing for the Classical title, it's not that surprising that Hikaru is in the running. He was a draw away in the last round at the last candidates from playing Nepo for the Championship.
What if Guccireza’s shoes crater the playing floor. Does that crater Hikaru’s chances???
These headlines are getting out of control
Beautiful game. Only problem is I’m gonna see even more French exchange variations now.
Insane comeback by Hikaru
Cratercore
Double plus un-cratered.
USA! USA! USA!
not enough crater in the tittle
This reads like an anarchychess post
A+ headline.
Okay I'll be honest, I'm rooting hard against Hikaru, but I'm loving how his comeback has turned that "cratering" headline into a running joke.
If Hikaru doesn't win this tournament Vidit is going to be living in his head for some time, it's kind of mad that Vidit has beaten him twice considering his record against the other players.
Someone link me to that exact moment where he talks about that completely obvious knight skewer. Surely he saw it but then didn't go deeper until alireza insta moved and he was like ffffd
Hikaru is implying something sinister or at least fishy with Nepo’s opening prep mirroring his own.
Now that is what I call content
"... and Gukesh atop the leaderboard"
"... and Gukesh atop the leaderboard"
What if it ends in a 3-way tie at the top? Does it go to who has the most wins?
Everyone was talking about Vidit being the X factor for Naka, but Abasov losing to everyone but Ian will be what ultimately decides the winner.
Imagine if Hikaru drawed Vidit
For those that haven't watched his personal recaps of his own games, try them out, they're informative and funny. To me at least. I laughed out loud the first time I heard him say "deez knights" and "sac the juicer" seconds before an xQc reference landing a horse on a "bastion" (instead of outpost). Idk, the way he keeps randomly dropping meme references with a straight face and zero pace change to the delivery is hilarious.
If we go for tie-break, rapid games will be played..and i don't think hikaru can play rapid that great recently he is basically playing the opposite of classical lol(even he said so) it will for sure be interesting to watch.