Candidates tournament gets underway in Toronto
Eight men and as many women to fight it out for top prize; presence of siblings Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali has attracted lot of interest in the double roundrobin event that will run till April 23
The Candidates tournament, which will determine the identity of the challenger to the next World chess championship, was inaugurated in Toronto on Wednesday.
Some of the world’s top players are competing in the double roundrobin tournament.
Eight men and as many women are fighting it out for the top prize in the Open and women’s sections.
Five of those 16 are from India — R. Praggnanandhaa, D. Gukesh and Vidit
Gujrathi in the Open event, and Koneru Humpy and R. Vaishali in the women’s.
Both the reigning World champions are from China — Ding Liren and Ju Wenjun. While there are two women from China in Toronto, there is none in the Open event.
Favourites
Two Americans, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, the World No. 2 and 3 respectively, are the favourites in the Open section, which also includes strong players like the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi (the winner of the last two Candidates tournaments) and Alireza Firouzja of France.
“We know that every player here can potentially win the tournament if they bring their best game,” said Caruana.
“The numbers say something about the past performances, but I think it will be a mistake to take any of the players lightly.”
The presence of the Chennai siblings Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali has attracted a lot of interest.
“We discuss our games all the time and help each other throughout various events,” Vaishali said.
“We also have our mother here with us; this family support is very important to us.”
First in North America
This is the first time North America is hosting the Candidates tournament.
“North America has not seen World championship cycle competitions,” said Emil Sutovsky, CEO of FIDE, the world chess governing body.
“We were well aware of the chess boom in Canada, with a lot of young players emerging.
“There are a lot of chess fans in the country. The Scheinberg family’s support for staging the event here, coupled with the backing of the Chess Federation of Canada, made it a logical choice.
“Judging by the feedback we are getting, by the interest from the fans and the media and by the government’s support, it was the right decision.”