Chess
- Nepo-Naka: 1/2-1/2
- Pragg-Fabi: 1/2-1/2
- Vidit-Abasov: 1/2-1/2
- Gukesh-Alireza: 1/2-1/2
- Vaishali-Lei: 1/2-1/2
- Salimova-Lagno: 1-0
- Tan-Goryachkina: 1/2-1/2
- Humpy-Muzychuk: 1-0
- Naka-Alireza: 1-0
- Abasov-Gukesh: 1/2-1/2
- Fabi-Vidit: 1/2-1/2
- Nepo-Pragg: 1/2-1/2
- Lagno-Lei: 1/2-1/2
- Muzychuk-Vaishali: 1-0
- Goryachkina-Humpy: 1-0
- Salimova-Tan: 0-1
- Pragg-Nakamura: 1-0
- Vidit-Nepo: 1-0
- Gukesh-Fabi: 1/2-1/2
- Alireza-Abasov: 0-1
- Tan-Lagno: 0-1
- Humpy-Salimova: 0-1
- Vaishali-Goryachkina: 1-0
- Lei-Muzychuk: 0-1
- Naka-Abasov: 1-0
- Caruana-Alireza: 0-1
- Nepo-Gukesh: 1/2-1/2
- Pragg-Vidit: 1/2-1/2
- Lagno-Muzychuk: 1/2-1/2
- Goryachkina-Tingjie: 1/2-1/2
- Salimova-Vaishali: 1-0
- Tan-Humpy: 1-0
- Vidit-Naka: 1/2
- Gukesh-Pragg: 1/2
- Alireza-Nepo: 0-1
- Abasov-Caruana: 0-1
- Tingjie-Salimova: 1-0
- Humpy-Lagno: 1/2
- Vaishali-Zhongyi: 0-1
- Muzychuk-Goryachkina: 1/2
- Hikaru 1/2-1/2 Fabi
- Nepo 1-0 Abasov
- Pragg 0-1 Firouzja
- Vidit 1-0 Gukesh
- Lagno 1/2-1/2 Goryachkina
- Salimova 0-1 Muzychuk
- Tan 1/2-1/2 Lei
- Humpy 1- 0 Vaishali
- Naka-Nepo: 1/2-1/2
- Fabi-Pragg: 1-0
- Abasov-Vidit: 0-1
- Alireza-Gukesh: 1/2-1/2
- Lagno-Salimova: 1-0
- Goryachkina-Zhongyi: 1/2-1/2
- Muzychuk-Humpy: 0-1
- Tingjie-Vaishali: 1-0
- Gukesh-Naka: 1/2-1/2
- Vidit-Alireza: 1-0
- Pragg-Abasov: 1-0
- Nepo-Fabi: 1/2-1/2
- Zhongyi-Salimova: 1-0
- Tingjie-Lagno: 1/2-1/2
- Vaishali-Muzychuk: 1-0
- Humpy-Goryachkina: 1/2-1/2
- Alireza-Naka: 1/2-1/2
- Gukesh-Abasov: 1/2-1/2
- Vidit-Fabi: 1/2-1/2
- Pragg-Nepo: 1-0
- Zhongyi-Salimova: 1-0
- Tingjie-Lagno: 1/2-1/2
- Vaishali-Muzychuk: 1/2-1/2
- Humpy-Goryachkina: 0-1
- Hikaru-Pragg: 1/2-1/2
- Nepo-Vidit: 1-0
- Fabi-Gukesh: 1-0
- Abasov-Alireza: 1/2-1/2
- Goryachkina-Vaishali: 1-0
- Lagno-Zhongyi: 1/2-1/2
- Nurgyul-Humpy: 0-1
- Muzychuk-Tingjie: Draw
-
Abasov-Naka: 0-1
-
Alireza-Fabi: 1/2-1/2
-
Vidit-Pragg: 1-0
-
Gukesh-Ian: 1/2-1/2
-
Vaishali-Nurgyul: 1-0
-
Tingjei-Goryachkina: 1/2-1/2
-
Muzychuk-Lagno: 1-0
-
Humpy-Zhongyi: 1/2-1/2
- Pragg-Gukesh: draw
- Naka-Vidit: 1-0
- Nepo-Alireza: draw
- Fabi-Abasov: 1-0
- Zhongyi-Vaishali: 1-0
- Lagno-Humpy: draw
- Nurgyul-Tinjie: 0-1
- Goryachkina-Muzychuk: draw
- Fabi-Naka: 1/2-1/2
- Abasov-Nepo: 0-1
- Alireza-Pragg: 1-0
- Gukesh-Vidit: draw
- Goryachkina-Lagno: 1/2-1/2
- Muzychuk-Salimova: 1-0
- Lei-Tan: 1/2-1/2
- Vaishalil-Humpy: 0-1
- Ian
- Hikaru
- Fabi
- Alireza
- Pragg
- Gukesh
- Vidit
- Abasov
- Hikaru
- Pragg
- Alireza
- Fabi
- Abasov
- Vidit
- Gukesh
- Nepo
2024 Chess Open Candidates Round 13 Predictions
Honestly, I’m hoping that by predicting all-draws, we have a bloody round instead! Same in the Women’s tournament, where I am voting against my favorites in two cases!
Women’s
The 2024 Chess Candidates tournament is wild!
This has been the most exciting Chess Candidates tournament—or any chess tournament—I’ve ever seen. Tomorrow is round 13 of 14 and we have a three-way tie for first, with Fabiano Caruana, who was considered by most to be the tournament favorite just a half-game back. And in the final two rounds, three games feature those top four, plus games with some of the potentially most dangerous folks from further down the leaderboard. It’s wild.
No small amount of the excitement is coming from the time control, with two hours flat for the first forty moves + thirty-minutes and thirty-second increment starting at move 41 (with no third time control). I have mixed feelings about this. The chess lover in me doesn’t like speeding the classical game up, but the spectator is loving the drama.
It’s very possible we’ll go into tie-breaks. If we do, with the tie-breaks being rapid games, it will surely be high drama, but I will have solidly divided feelings: I don’t think classical chess should ever be decided by time-controls that do not quality as classical chess by the organizing body. I know this is the view of a Romantic dinosaur, but there you have it!
While I appreciate the drama of Nakamura’s routine streaming and his relaxed attitude (or the partial pretense of one: I believe that he is relatively relaxed about the tournament, but I don’t think he literally “does not care”), I’m not too interested in the ancillary drama in the form of Alireza’s ShoeGate followed by his—rather worked up—father being escorted from the venue, where he had the chance to launch a tirade to a reporter.
2024 Chess Open Candidates Round 12 Predictions
What a pair of tournaments. My favorite in the Women’s field, Anna Muzychuk, just can’t finish a win, while Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi are crushing the field. Meanwhile, Naka is staging a wild “comeback,” Nepo is playing defense like Petrosian, and we have the prospect of the youngest challenger ever emerging when the smoke clears. Good stuff!
Anyway, my predictions:
Open:
Women’s
2024 Chess Candidates Round 11 Predictions
I think I’m going to stop predicting what I think will happen, which I’m terrible at anyway, and instead “predict” what I hope will happen, which just as hard because I actually like everyone who’s playing. But for entertainment value:
Open:
Women’s
2024 Chess Candidates Round 10 predictions:
I haven’t tallied my prediction results…is it possible to be less than 0? Nonetheless, let’s roll! Or walk. Quietly, carrying a big rook.
Open:
Women:
2024 Chess Candidates Round 9 predictions:
Just bet on the opposite of whatever I predict. But I must forge ahead. Note that my wishlist would be rather different. Maybe I should just start posting that instead!
Open:
Women’s
2024 Chess Candidates Round 8 predictions:
We’re only starting the second half, but things are going to get out of reach for many hopefuls if Ian wins and they don’t…
I have no long trains of logic behind my last minute picks today, but I need to get them in under the wire, so:
Because, why not…
Women’s:
2024 Chess Candidates Round 7 Predictions
I went 4/4 with Open predictions yesterday! Blind squirrels, acorns, etc. I would love to see some chaosmaxxing results today…it’s theoretically possible for the day to end in a 6-way tie! But what my actual predictions:
Open:
Women’s
2024 Chess Candidates Round 6 predictions:
Continuing my proud streak of terrible predictions, I present to you the future you will surely be missing. Notably sad tournament for one of my faves, Anna Muzychuk, who has not been able to capitalize on advantage after advantage. She has to be losing steam.
Women’s
2024 Chess Candidates Round 5 predictions:
I haven’t tallied my predictions so far, but let’s just say they haven’t been great. Still, one must persevere!
2024 Chess Open Candidates Round 5 predictions:
2024 Chess Women’s Candidates Round 5 predictions:
2024 Chess Candidates Round 4 predictions
My Round 3 Open predictions were 2/4 - Women’s 2/4 in an all draw round. I haven’t tallied my overall yet, but it isn’t good!
Round 4 Open predictions:
Round 4 Women’s predictions:
2024 Chess Candidates Round 3 predictions
Well, my predictions for the last round were 1/4 for the Open and 1/4 for the Women’s Candidates 😂. I was definitely not expecting Naka to get crushed with white, nor Nepo to handle Alireza so handily. And I’m sad about Anna Muzychuk’s loss…she is one of my favorite players!
Anyway, here are my predictions for today. A safe bet would be to predict anything other than what I have!
Eval bars and engine support in chess commentating are a scourge. Removing them is more fun and also shuts up all the engine jockeys who are miraculously super GMs in chat and discussion boards, all the while constantly falling off their silicon steeds at every .5+ (to be generous) swing.
2024 Chess Candidates Round 2 predictions
My intuition was right about the first round of the Candidates Open; my wishful thinking turned out to be just that. Though the games were draws, all but Nepo-Abasov featured exciting chess, especially by Naka and Alireza.
My predictions for today:
I forgot to post my prediction for the Women’s Candidates, which I expected to be all draws. But my prediction was dashed by Zhongyi Tan’s unexpected revenge for her loss to Tingjie Lei in the 2023 Candidates final!
My predictions for today:
All my predictions are partly wishful thinking :)
Watch the games on lichess’s (amazing new) broadcast page!
How I’m watching the Candidates: Arc browser, Lichess broadcast, MultiTwitch, and Chatty.
2024 Chess Candidates Round 1 predictions
For no reason at all, and hoping that we see more fighting chess, here are my predictions for todays 2024 Chess Candidates matches. I honestly suspect it might open with all draws, but here’s what I think will happen if they come out of the gate hard:
Open:
Women’s
2024 Chess Candidates Predictions
Trying to predict results in the 2024 Chess Candidates tournament seems even harder than usual, with all the young players, the possible ripple-effects of one outlier with a much lower rating, a player who’s won the Candidates twice, another who came a hair’s-breadth from winning the World Championship, and a competitor who barely scooped up the highest rating spot but is/was seen as one of the most likely future champions.
But I’m going to take a shot anyway because…it’s fun! And it means nothing. And I’m making predictions that are a mélange of what I think will happen and what I wish would happen.
My prediction for the tournament final standings:
What would be fun to see (and great for the game):
I love that I will be happy, for various reasons, with any winner this time around. I’m definitely expecting some exciting chess and tournament dynamics.
Kramnik Banned from chess.com
Without trying to diagnose from afar, I’d wager that Kramnik is suffering from significant mental illness (though some of these behaviors go back a long way in slightly altered forms). The whole thing makes me sad, really, because Big Vlad is an amazing player, and has often been gregarious and good humored to an exceptional degree.
The increased paranoia, narcissism, and intensified persecution complex in a bubble largely of his own creation is sadly parallel to many of his age (I’m a few years older) and their political views and expression nowadays…as is this kind of reaction when caught, countered or rebuffed.