White is pressuring Black down the d- and e-file, while, in response, black’s bishop on b4 is tying the white queen and preventing White from playing on the d5 square.

With 13.a3 Nepomniachtchi immediately forced Black to declare his intentions. Rapport took on c3 (13…Ba5 is a more popular continuation) and then castled. After 13…Bxc3 14.Qxc3 0-0 15.Be5 Rc8, Nepomniachtchi was looking to ease the pressure on the board and simplify the position. With this in mind, he refrained from aggressive and objectively strong 16.g4 and proceeded to take on f6 and exchange heavy pieces: 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.gxf6 18.exd5 Bxd5 19.Rd4

Rapport opted for 19…f5 - the first original move in the game - and after 20.Bd3 Bc6 21.Rd1, the position was level. Several moves down the road, the opponents traded rooks and split a point on the move 32.

After three hours of play, Ian Nepomniachtchi achieved a repeat of Yekaterinburg: With a round to spare, he won the Candidates tournament. In this game, as in all previous ones, he has demonstrated two things: confidence and calm, both on and off the board.

Hikaru Nakamura vs Jan-Krzysztof Duda: The exchange of inaccuracies

In the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian, Nakamura played the system with 7.Nf3, which brought him success in the round nine game against Firouzja.

After Nakamura introduced a novelty 11.Nh4, Duda spent over 13 minutes thinking and played 13…Na5. It was not an optimal reaction as after 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.Ng6 Rg8 White prevented Black’s castling short.

Here Nakamura played natural 16.h4 with the idea of supporting the g6-knight, after which his advantage immediately dwindled. Better was 16.b3. As played, Black got some respite but did not equalize completely.

Duda tried to counter White’s advances by getting his knight from c4 back to f8 to support the king’s defence, and also aligned his queen and rook on the c-file, while Nakamura executed an excellent manoeuvre Nc3-d1-e3 advanced his pawn to c4 and grabbed the initiative again.

Here, instead of 22.Nxe7 followed by moving his bishop to a3 and doubling the rooks along the d-file, Nakamura played 22.Nh4?!. Most likely, he missed the Nf8-h7-g5 manoeuvre by Black. Indeed after 22…Nh7 23.b3 Ng5 25.Qe2 Nxe4, Duda snatched an important pawn in the centre and emerged slightly better.

Both sides played steadily until Nakamura made another error.

White played 31.Rfd1. Instead, 31.Ba3, pinning the d6 pawn and aiming at the a3-f8 diagonal was better for White. After 31…Bg5! Black got the upper hand. However, Duda surrendered the advantage within the next two moves.

Instead of playing 33…b4 to close the White’s bishop, Duda prematurely opened the centre with 33…d5 and allowed Nakamura space for tactics.

34.cxd5 Rc2 35.Bd6 - here comes the price for not closing off White’s bishop with b4 earlier. The game continued 36…Rxe2 37.Bxc7 Nc5 37.d6.

It is the last critical position. Nakamura pushed his d-pawn too quickly. He should have moved rook from d3 instead with a roughly equal position. Duda, however, quickly responded with 37…Nd7? which was a decisive mistake. The Polish GM should have gone for 37...Nxd3 38.d7 Ra8 39.Rxd3 Rxa2 40.d8Q Bxd8 41.Bxd8 in which Black is fine, to say the least.

In the following moves, Nakamura increased his advantage by skillfully avoiding attacks from Black while simultaneously eliminating obstacles for the promotion of his d-pawn.

It is the final position. The only way for Black to stop the d-pawn promoting was to capture on d7, which would lead to him ending a piece down: 52…Nxd7 53.Rxd7 Rxd7 54.Nf8+, collecting the rook on d7.

A critical victory for Nakamura, giving him the best shot at second place.

Alireza Firouzja vs Ding Liren: All you can do is try

Firouzja was playing not to lose. He opted for the Four knight’s Scotch, a solid and calm line.

Ding here decided to sacrifice a pawn, something you usually don’t do near the endgame. Firouzja yielded to temptation, and after 21.Rxe5 Rxe5 22.Bxh5 Ding played 22…f5, charging across the centre.

Despite being a pawn down, it seemed that Black had a clear plan of building up pressure while Firouzja was on the defensive. The game, which looked even and heading straight for a draw, suddenly livened up.

Firouzja advanced his kingside pawns and trapped the Black’s bishop on h4.

On the other hand, this ‘prisoner’ chained White’s king to the kingside as his f4-pawn needed protection. Here Ding started looking for his chances on the queenside and then proceeded with a pawn advance in the centre.

Firouzja immediately sacrificed his bishop 35.Bxd3! - the only move that allows White to hold his ground. Ding went for Black’s weak pawns on the fifth rank, while Ding took on b3.

Ding’s king was cut off, with White’s g- and h-pawn preventing any movement on the kingside. After a perpetual check, a draw was agreed.

The World No. 2 tried what he could, but it didn’t work. Still, his appetite for victory and sense for critical moments came to the fore, and he will deservedly be fighting for second place against Nakamura in the final round.

Teimour Radjabov vs Fabiano Caruana: Calling the whole thing off

In the Catalan, Caruana essayed a rare line in which, at first glance, White got an edge.

Here Caruana played 8…b6 instead of Bxd2 or Bd6. Radjabov responded 9.Bxb4 and after 9…Ba6 10.Qb3 axb4 11.Qxb4, White got an extra pawn for which Black supposedly had no compensation.

However, after 11…c5! 12.dxc5 – taking another pawn - and 12…Nc6, White had an option to take the third pawn on the queenside. Radjabov reasoned it would be too dangerous (exposing his queen and uncastled king to an attack) and opted for a more reserved 13.Qd2.

A pawn exchange on the left flank was followed by trading queens, after which White was a pawn up, but Black got a sufficient counterplay in the form of very active pieces. This line, up to move 15, was tested in a game of two lower-rated played back in 2019. There is little doubt that Caruana analyzed it in-depth, preparing for the event.

Despite being a pawn up, it wasn’t easy for White. He still hadn’t castled, and his pieces were not all activated to their potential. Radjabov was also getting weaker on time. Black, on the other hand, secured his king, had more active pieces and his rooks were unopposed down the a- and d- files. In any pawn exchange, there was a danger of black rooks getting down to the second rank.

Radjabov opted to simplify and not take risks.

After 18.b3 Nb4 19.Nd2 Nxa2 20.Rc2 Nb4 21.Rxc4 Rbc8 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Nc4 Bxc4 24.bxc4 Rc4 25.Kd2 the position was dead even.

The two soon decided to call it a day. This was the first game of the round to finish. After the initial sparks, it seems that neither side was willing to push too hard. Both players are on 6.5 and with no chance for second place.

The final, fourteenth round of the Candidates starts on Monday the 4th of July at 3 PM CEST at the Palacio de Santona in Madrid.