Candidates Chess Tournament 2020

Candidates Chess Tournament 2020 2nd round

By Yelena Dembo | March 19, 2020 - 04:50 |March 19, 2020 Candidates Chess Tournament 2020

Four players lead with 1.5 points – Nepomniachtchi, Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave and Wang Hao.

Results of the round

GM	Caruana Fabiano	1 – 0	GM	Alekseenko Kirill
GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	½ – ½	GM	Grischuk Alexander
GM	Wang Hao	½ – ½	GM	Giri Anish
GM	Vachier-Lagrave Maxime	1 – 0	GM	Ding Liren

Games of the round

   [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]  [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"]  [Date "2020.03.18"]  [Round "2.1"]  [White "Caruana, Fabiano"]  [Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "E20"]  [WhiteElo "2842"]  [BlackElo "2698"]  [PlyCount "67"]  [EventDate "2020.03.17"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 dxe4 7. fxe4 c5 8. d5  exd5 9. exd5 O-O 10. Be2 Re8 11. Nf3 Bg4 12. O-O Nbd7 13. d6 Bf8 14. h3 Bh5 15.  Nb5 Re6 16. Bf4 a6 17. Nc7 Re4 18. Bh2 Rc8 19. g4 Bxg4 20. hxg4 Nxg4 21. Bd3  Nxh2 22. Bxe4 Nxf1 23. Qxf1 Bxd6 24. Nd5 g6 25. Qh3 Kg7 26. Kh1 Ne5 27. Nh4 h5  28. Rg1 Bf8 29. Nf4 Ng4 30. Nxh5+ gxh5 31. Bf5 Be7 32. Bxg4 hxg4 33. Qxg4+ Bg5  34. Qh5 1-0

   [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]  [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"]  [Date "2020.03.18"]  [Round "2.2"]  [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]  [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [ECO "C67"]  [WhiteElo "2774"]  [BlackElo "2777"]  [PlyCount "80"]  [EventDate "2020.03.17"]   1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5  8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14.  Rfe1 Bb4 15. a3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 h4 17. Kh2 Kf8 18. Rb1 b6 19. Rb4 Re8 20. Ra4 a5  21. Bd2 c5 22. Rf4 Rh5 23. Rf3 Kg8 24. Bc1 Ne7 25. g4 hxg3+ 26. fxg3 Nc6 27.  Bf4 Bc8 28. Rfe3 Nd8 29. Kg2 Ne6 30. Nxe6 Bxe6 31. g4 Rh8 32. Bg5 Kh7 33. Kg3  Rb8 34. Rd3 Rhe8 35. Red1 b5 36. Rd8 b4 37. Rxe8 Rxe8 38. cxb4 cxb4 39. axb4  axb4 40. Rd8 Rxd8 1/2-1/2

   [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]  [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"]  [Date "2020.03.18"]  [Round "2.3"]  [White "Wang, Hao"]  [Black "Giri, Anish"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [ECO "A37"]  [WhiteElo "2762"]  [BlackElo "2763"]  [PlyCount "121"]  [EventDate "2020.03.17"]   1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. h4 h6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nb5 d5  9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O Nf6 11. Bf4 O-O 12. Qc1 a6 13. Nbxd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Kh7 15.  Rd1 Re8 16. Qc7 Qxc7 17. Bxc7 Bg4 18. f3 Rac8 19. Ba5 Bd7 20. Kf2 h5 21. Bf1  Ng8 22. Bc3 Bh6 23. Rd3 Ne7 24. Rad1 Bg7 25. e3 Kg8 26. R3d2 Ba4 27. Re1 Bd7  28. Ne2 Rc7 29. Bxg7 Kxg7 30. Nc3 Be6 31. Red1 b5 32. a3 Rb8 33. Ne2 a5 34. Nd4  Bd7 35. b4 axb4 36. axb4 Ra8 37. Rb2 Ra4 38. Rdb1 Rb7 39. Rc1 Rba7 40. Nxb5  Bxb5 41. Bxb5 Ra3 42. Be2 Rb7 43. b5 Rb6 44. Rd1 Kf6 45. Rdd2 Rb7 46. Bd3 Nc8  47. e4 dxe4 48. Bxe4 Rb6 49. Rd7 Rc3 50. Rb7 Rxb7 51. Bxb7 Nb6 52. Be4 Ke5 53.  Rd2 Rb3 54. Bc6 Nc4 55. f4+ Kf6 56. Rd8 Rb2+ 57. Kf3 Nd2+ 58. Ke3 Nf1+ 59. Kf3  Nd2+ 60. Ke2 Ne4+ 61. Kf3 1/2-1/2

   [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]  [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"]  [Date "2020.03.18"]  [Round "2.4"]  [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]  [Black "Ding, Liren"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "C88"]  [WhiteElo "2767"]  [BlackElo "2805"]  [PlyCount "73"]  [EventDate "2020.03.17"]   1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3  Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. a3 Qd7 11. Nc3 Rfe8 12. Bd2 Nd8 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 c5 15.  a4 f5 16. axb5 axb5 17. Rxa8 Bxa8 18. c4 Nf7 19. cxb5 g5 20. Nh2 Kg7 21. Bc4  Kg6 22. g4 Nh6 23. Qf3 Bd8 24. Qg2 f4 25. b4 Bb6 26. Qe4+ Kg7 27. bxc5 dxc5 28.  Nf3 Nf7 29. Bc3 Bc7 30. b6 Bb8 31. Qf5 Qxf5 32. gxf5 Kf6 33. Nd2 Rd8 34. d6  Rxd6 35. Rb1 Nd8 36. b7 Bxb7 37. Ba5 1-0

Pairings of the 3rd round

GM	Ding Liren	GM	Caruana Fabiano
GM	Giri Anish	GM	Vachier-Lagrave Maxime
GM	Grischuk Alexander	GM	Wang Hao
GM	Alekseenko Kirill	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian

View the most recent articles, analysis, videos and others materials on yesterday’s round below

ChessBase https://en.chessbase.com/post/candidates-2020-r2

Chess24 https://chess24.com/en/read/news/candidates-2020-2-mvl-inflicts-2nd-loss-on-ding-liren

Official website.

By Yelena Dembo | March 18, 2020 - 07:12 |March 18, 2020 Candidates Chess Tournament 2020

Leave a comment

The first round was played yesterday in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Nepomniachtchi and Wang Hao lead with 1 point.

Results of the round

GM	Vachier-Lagrave Maxime	½ – ½	GM	Caruana Fabiano
GM	Ding Liren	0 – 1	GM	Wang Hao
GM	Giri Anish	0 – 1	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian
GM	Grischuk Alexander	½ – ½	GM	Alekseenko Kirill

Games of the round

   [Event "Candidates Chess Tournament 2020 "]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2020.03.17"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Ding, Liren"]  [Black "Wang, Hao"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A22"]  [PlyCount "90"]  [EventDate "1914.??.??"]   1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. d3 O-O 5. Nc3 c6 6. Nf3 d6 7. O-O Re8 8. Na4  Bb4 9. a3 Ba5 10. b4 Bc7 11. e4 a5 12. Bb2 Na6 13. b5 cxb5 14. cxb5 Nc5 15.  Nxc5 dxc5 16. a4 Bg4 17. Ra3 Nd7 18. h3 Bh5 19. Qb1 b6 20. Nd2 Nf8 21. Bf3 Qg5  22. h4 Qg6 23. Qd1 Bxf3 24. Qxf3 h5 25. Qf5 Rad8 26. Qxg6 Nxg6 27. Kg2 f6 28.  Nc4 Kf7 29. Bc1 Rd7 30. f4 exf4 31. Bxf4 Nxf4+ 32. gxf4 f5 33. e5 Re6 34. Kf3  Rg6 35. Ne3 Ke6 36. Rd1 Bd8 37. Ra2 Rd4 38. Nc2 Rd5 39. Ne3 Rd7 40. Rdd2 Bxh4  41. Rg2 Rg4 42. Rh2 g6 43. Nxg4 fxg4+ 44. Ke3 Be7 45. Rac2 h4 0-1

   [Event "Candidates Chess Tournament 2020 "]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2020.03.17"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Giri, Anish"]  [Black "Nepomniaschi, I."]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A33"]  [PlyCount "146"]  [EventDate "1914.??.??"]   1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. g3 Qb6 7. Ndb5 Ne5 8.  Bf4 Nfg4 9. e3 a6 10. h3 axb5 11. hxg4 Nxc4 12. Rc1 d5 13. b3 Bb4 14. bxc4 Ra3  15. Be5 f6 16. Bd4 Qa5 17. Be2 Bxc3+ 18. Rxc3 Rxc3 19. Kf1 b4 20. g5 e5 21.  Bxc3 bxc3 22. gxf6 gxf6 23. Qb1 Qc7 24. Qd3 b5 25. Qxc3 bxc4 26. e4 dxe4 27.  Rh4 Be6 28. Rxe4 O-O 29. Bxc4 Kg7 30. Qb3 Rb8 31. Bxe6 Rxb3 32. Rg4+ Kf8 33.  Bxb3 Qc1+ 34. Kg2 Qc6+ 35. Kg1 h5 36. Rg8+ Ke7 37. Rg7+ Kd6 38. Rh7 Qf3 39. Rh8  e4 40. Rd8+ Ke7 41. Bd1 Qc3 42. Rd5 h4 43. gxh4 f5 44. Rxf5 Qe1+ 45. Kg2 Qxd1  46. Rg5 Qa1 47. Rg4 Qb1 48. Rg3 Qxa2 49. Rh3 Qd5 50. Kf1 Qd1+ 51. Kg2 Qg4+ 52.  Rg3 Qh5 53. Ra3 Qd5 54. Kg1 Kf6 55. Rg3 Qd1+ 56. Kg2 Kf5 57. Rg5+ Kf4 58. Rg3  Qd5 59. Kf1 Qd2 60. Kg2 Qd1 61. Re3 Kf5 62. Rg3 Kf6 63. Rh3 Kg6 64. Rg3+ Kh5  65. Rh3 Qb1 66. Re3 Kxh4 67. Rg3 Kh5 68. Rh3+ Kg4 69. Rg3+ Kf4 70. Re3 Qd1 71.  Ra3 Ke5 72. Rg3 Kd4 73. Re3 Qd3 0-1

   [Event "Candidates Chess Tournament 2020 "]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2020.03.17"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Grischuk, Alexander"]  [Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [ECO "A20"]  [PlyCount "82"]  [EventDate "1914.??.??"]   1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. d3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nc3 Nxc3 7. bxc3 O-O 8.  Qc2 Nc6 9. Nf3 h6 10. O-O Rb8 11. Bb2 b6 12. Rad1 Qe8 13. e4 Bd6 14. Nh4 Bg4  15. f3 Bd7 16. f4 exf4 17. gxf4 Na5 18. Rde1 Qd8 19. Qf2 Nc4 20. Bc1 Bc5 21. d4  Be7 22. Nf3 f5 23. Qe2 Nd6 24. e5 Ne4 25. Nd2 Nxd2 26. Bxd2 Be6 27. Qd3 Qd7 28.  Be3 c6 29. a4 a6 30. Qxa6 Ra8 31. Qxb6 Bd5 32. Qb2 Rxa4 33. Ra1 Rfa8 34. Rxa4  Rxa4 35. Ra1 Rxa1+ 36. Qxa1 Bxg2 37. Kxg2 Qd5+ 38. Kf2 Bh4+ 39. Ke2 Qg2+ 40.  Kd3 Qe4+ 41. Kd2 Qg2+ 1/2-1/2

   [Event "Candidates Chess Tournament 2020 "]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2020.03.17"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]  [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [ECO "C78"]  [PlyCount "88"]  [EventDate "1914.??.??"]   1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. c3  d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 Ba7 11. h3 O-O 12. Be3 exd4 13. cxd4 Nb4 14. Nc3 Bb7 15.  Ng5 Qe7 16. e5 dxe5 17. Nxf7 e4 18. Nd6+ Kh8 19. Nxb7 Rxb7 20. Qe2 c6 21. Rad1  Rd7 22. f3 exf3 23. Rxf3 c5 24. dxc5 Rxd1+ 25. Nxd1 Bxc5 26. Qf2 Bd6 27. Nc3  Nd3 28. Qe2 Nc5 29. Ba2 Re8 30. Qd2 Nce4 31. Nxe4 Nxe4 32. Qd3 Ng5 33. Bxg5  Bc5+ 34. Kh1 Qxg5 35. Rf1 Qe5 36. Qd5 Qe2 37. Qf5 Qe5 38. Qxe5 Rxe5 39. Rd1 g6  40. Bd5 Re7 41. Bc6 Re2 42. Bb7 Rxb2 43. Bxa6 Ra2 44. Bxb5 Rxa5 1/2-1/2

Pairings of the 2nd round

GM	Caruana Fabiano	GM	Alekseenko Kirill
GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	GM	Grischuk Alexander
GM	Wang Hao	GM	Giri Anish
GM	Vachier-Lagrave Maxime	GM	Ding Liren

View the most recent articles, analysis, videos and others materials on yesterday’s round below

Chess24.com https://chess24.com/en/read/news/candidates-2020-1-the-unbeatables-beaten

ChessBase https://en.chessbase.com/post/candidates-2020-r1

Official website.

Looking for lessons?
I charge US$ 25 per hour, US$ 100 for 5 hours or US$ 200 for 10 hours, if one purchases them in advance.
Lessons happen on Playchess & ChessRex.com. I use Teams and Google Meet.
Teaching experience – 26 years. Students’ level ranges from beginners to players with 2400 ELO (IMs as well).
My mom Nadezhda Fokin (Israeli Women’s Champion, 3rd board in 1992 Chess Olympiad, Soviet Women’s Master) charges US$ 20 for 1 hour (payments via my PayPal e-mail – [email protected]).
Game analysis with verbal comments and suggestions on what to improve and how
Easy improvement – detailed analysis of your games done by an International Master. I charge US$ 10 per game or US$ 35 for 5 games. Analysis can be sent by pgn, html, cbv formats.
Just US$ 5 for monthly subscription to weekly e-mails with middlegame/endgame material
Send US$ 5 to [email protected] on Paypal and get 10 game fragments on middlegame/endgame every week. Studying these themes helps to find plans, ideas, build strategies 15-35 moves into the game. It is very important to study these themes as the middlegame is where most players get into time pressure or just cannot find a plan. Material can be sent in pgn, cbv, html, pdf formats.
Don’t know how to study chess or what to study to improve?
Check out the study material pages or e-mail me at [email protected].
Just US$ 5 for monthly subscription to fresh opening ideas & updated theoretical lines sent weekly by e-mail!
Check out https://yelenadembo.com/archives/6242 and https://yelenadembo.com/material-for-sale or e-mail me at [email protected] for info!
Want to learn to play the middlegame or endgame well?
I have a collection of over 40 thousand examples. It is very important to study these themes as the middlegame is where most players get into time pressure or just cannot find a plan.
Prices: each annotated example costs 20 cents, so 10 examples cost 2 euros, etc. Send payment to [email protected] on PayPal to get the examples by e-mail in cbv, pgn, html formats.
Special price for middlegame books with very interesting verbal explanations
My first chess book, “The Very Unusual Book About Chess” – ONLY 15 euros with postage and packaging included. Detailed explanation of tactical methods.
My second book is titled “Conversation with a Professional Trainer – Methods of Positional Play” – ONLY 15 euros with postage and packaging included. Detailed explanation of positional ideas and methods!
Naturally both books can be signed and dedicated! Can be bought as presents for friends and family!
Tweets by @yelenadembo
Chess Puzzle of the Day
Recent Posts
- Thursday Quiz 4.12.25 December 4, 2025
- Wednesday Quiz 3.12.25 December 3, 2025
- Tuesday Quiz 2.12.25 December 2, 2025
- Monday Quiz 1.12.25 December 1, 2025
- Sunday Quiz 30.11.25 November 30, 2025
- Saturday Quiz 29.11.25 November 29, 2025
- Friday Quiz 28.11.25 November 28, 2025
- Thursday Quiz 27.11.25 November 27, 2025
- Wednesday Quiz 26.11.25 November 26, 2025
- Tuesday Quiz 25.11.25 November 25, 2025
Archives
Archives
Meta
Categories
1st Women's FIDE Grand Prix Series Geneva 2013 14th European Individual Women’s Chess Championship 15th European Individual Women's Chess Championship 42nd Olympiad Baku 2016 Open 42nd Olympiad Baku 2016 Women 2016 U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP Candidates Tournament 2016 Candidates Tournament Berlin 2018 Carlsen-Caruana match Chess news Chess Olympiad 2014 European Individual Chess Championship 2014 Exercises FIDE Grand Prix Baku 2014 FIDE Grand Prix in Beijing 2013 FIDE Grand Prix Tashkent 2014 FIDE Women's Grand-Prix June/July 2014 FIDE Women's Grand Prix Chengdu 2016 FIDE World Cup in Tromso 2013 Grand Prix - Zug 2013 Lessons Our Middlegame and Endgame Collection Qatar Masters Open 2014 Qatar Masters Open 2015 Quiz Ratings Sale Tata Steel Masters 2014 Tata Steel Masters 2017 Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee 2018 Tehran Women's Grand Prix 2016 The Candidates Tournament Theoretical material Thessaloniki Grand-Prix 2013 The World Chess Candidates Tournament - London 2013 Tournaments Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2014 Uncategorized Weekend Sale Wijk aan Zee 2013 Wijk aan Zee A 2016 Women's Grand Prix Khanty-Mansiysk 2014 Women's World Championship 2015 Sochi Russia World Chess Championship 2016 Zurich Chess Challenge 2014
December 2025
M T W T F S S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
« Nov

Looking for lessons?

Game analysis with verbal comments and suggestions on what to improve and how

Just US$ 5 for monthly subscription to weekly e-mails with middlegame/endgame material

Don’t know how to study chess or what to study to improve?

Just US$ 5 for monthly subscription to fresh opening ideas & updated theoretical lines sent weekly by e-mail!

Want to learn to play the middlegame or endgame well?

Special price for middlegame books with very interesting verbal explanations

Chess Puzzle of the Day

Recent Posts

Archives

Meta

Categories