@fide_chess: Ian Nepomniachtchi - 2023 Match Runner-up This will be the third consecutive Candidates tournament for Ian Nepomniachtchi (33) who won both previous editions with a round to spare. Following his victory in the 2022 Candidates in Madrid, in April 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nepomniachtchi played against Ding Liren to determine the new world champion. Despite a good start and getting the lead, he slipped towards the end, and the match was drawn after 14 games. In the rapid tiebreaks, after three draws, Nepomniachtchi lost as White in the final game, allowing Ding to claim the title. Nepomniachtchi is only the second player in history to win the Candidates twice (next to Vasily Smyslov). Now, he has a chance to set a new record and, once again, earn his place in the fight for the title of World Champion. 📷 Anna Shtourman Lei Tingjie - 2023 Match Runner-up Chinese grandmaster Lei Tingjie already has one victory in the Candidates under her belt, and in Toronto, she will be looking for another. The eyes of the chess world turned to Lei in 2017 when, at the age of 19, she secured victory in the national championship, outshining the then-reigning women’s world champion, Tan Zhongyi 🏆 Despite a brief exit from the top 10 in women’s rankings, she made a remarkable comeback in 2021 by triumphing in the prestigious Women’s Grand Swiss tournament, earning her a spot in the 2022/23 Candidates Tournament. In April 2023, she emerged victorious in the Women’s Candidates matches, defeating Tan Zhongyi in the final. In July of 2023, she lost a tightly contested match against the defending World Champion Ju Wenjun. Lei Tingjie’s style, characterised by ambition, dynamism, and a willingness to take risks, mirrors the tradition of great Chinese chess players. As she vies for a chance to take part in another Women’s World Chess Championship against Ju Wenjun, Lei Tingjie aims to become the 7th Chinese player to claim the women’s crown. 📷 @stevbonhage 🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana - 2023 World Cup 3rd Fabiano Caruana (31) is one of the strongest players in the world and a regular in top events. He is the current US champion, winning the title for the first time in 2016. The Italian-American Grandmaster is no stranger to the Candidates. He first played the event in 2016, finishing second. In his second Candidates, in 2018, in Berlin, he emerged as the victor and faced Magnus Carlsen in what is considered to be one of the most closely contested matches in chess history. After all 12 games in the match ended with a draw, Caruana lost to Carlsen in the tiebreaks. Caruana’s competitive spirit has remained strong, marked by victories in tournaments such as the American Cup and the 2023 Sinquefield Cup. Notably, he clinched the 2023 Grand Chess Tour with an impressive score of 46 out of 52 points, setting a record for the highest point total in the Tour’s history. Caruana had a great 2023 and started 2024 as the second top-rated player in the world. This makes him one of the top contenders in the forthcoming Candidates tournament. 📷 Lennart Ootes 🇺🇦 Anna Muzychuk - 2023 Women’s World Cup 3rd Anna Muzychuk is the fourth woman to attain a 2600 rating and one of the strongest chess players ever 🌟 In the list of world championship titles, she has almost all of them — world junior, youth, rapid and blitz champion — save one: the title of the Women’s World Champion in classical chess.. Muzychuk and her sister, GM Mariya Muzychuk, were featured on a Ukrainian postage stamp following Mariya’s 2015 Women’s World Chess Championship triumph. In 2017, Anna secured second place in the Women’s World Chess Championship. Anna won both the 2016 Women’s World Rapid & Blitz titles. She won the best game award at the 2020 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival. She continued her excellence in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, finishing third out of 103 players, earning a spot in the upcoming 2024 Women’s Candidates Tournament. 📷 Anastasiia Korolkova

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Friday 29 March 2024 12:04:19 GMT