Vidit Gujrathi’s bishop shot forward like a bullet fired from a sniper rifle, assassinating Hikaru Nakamura’s harmless-looking pawn resting on the h3 square.
It was only the 11th move of the game in the second round of the Candidates, but in Nakamura’s mind, alarm bells started going off. He now faced a choice. He could wrest back the h3 square with the pawn that sat in front of his king. But that was what Vidit wanted him to do, which is why he’d so boldly offered him the bishop. Or, the world No. 3 could ignore the bishop sacrifice. Nakamura chose the latter, electing to send his knight to the c4 square. It was a decision that eventually led to the 29-year-old from India defeating one of the pre-tournament favourites.
When Vidit moved his bishop to h3 in his Round 2 game at the Candidates chess tournament, Hikaru had two options: recapture the h3 square or move his knight from e5 square. He chose the latter. (PHOTO: Screengrab courtesy Lichess.org)On the chessboard, there is perhaps no move more gloriously eye-catching than offering up a piece as a sacrifice. The sport has plenty of trick moves: the pin using the bishop, the fork with the knight, but nothing comes close to the dramatic flourish of a minor or major piece offered up at the altar because it helps you drastically improve your chances of winning.
INTERACTIVE: How Vidit Santosh Gujrathi defeated Hikaru Nakamura at Candidates
That’s what Vidit was doing with his bishop. In the previous game too, against D Gukesh, he had offered his bishop up.
After defeating Nakamura, Vidit joked that he was hoping the bishop sacrifice could become his insignia as a player.
“You know how Tigran Petrosian was famous for exchange sacrifices? It would be nice if the bishop sacrifice could be my (signature move),” smiled Vidit after ending Nakamura’s 47-game unbeaten streak in the classical format, a streak which had started at the last Candidates tournament in 2022.
“I’m not sure whether he missed bishop h3. Because he thought about his next move for quite some time. But it’s also hard to recommend some alternatives. Bishop to h3 was the star move. It’s rare to play a game like this where you get everything right. You get all the moves from your preparation in, and then he misplays the position. It’s rare that this happens against such a strong player,” Vidit said while analysing his game in the post-match press conference. “This is probably one of the best games of my career because of the importance of the event and my opponent. I’m definitely proud of it.”
If Nakamura took the bait and captured Vidit’s bishop, he would slide his queen on the back rank to the b8 square, thereby paralysing the American’s knight in the centre of the board. If Nakamura moved the knight, Vidit could easily place his queen on the g3 square, crippling his king. The last pawn in front of the king on f2 was already at the mercy of Vidit’s second bishop sitting on b6.
Candidates Chess tournament: If Hikaru captured the bishop, Vidit would slide his queen to b8, thus pinning Hikaru’s knight on e5 square. (PHOTO: Screengrab courtesy Lichess.org)
Nakamura understood that which is why he chose to move his knight to c4, trying to attack Vidit’s bishop on b6. Mistake.
“It was the start of many decisions I made in the game where I looked at one line and for whatever reason, I made a completely different decision in the game. I used 20 minutes before (pushing his knight to c4),” Nakamura said while analysing the game on his stream a few hours after the defeat. “But pretty much as I played this move, I realized it was not the best one.”
This was because on the next move itself, Vidit’s first bishop, was eyeballing Nakamura’s queen, guns drawn.
Candidates Chess tournament: Vidit moved the bishop to g4, threatening the white queen. If the queen captured the bishop, she would be captured by the black knight on the 6th rank. (PHOTO: Screengrab courtesy Lichess.org)
“But the problem now with the way the game was going at this stage was that I was already down on time on the clock. I have an hour left on the clock and I’m just on move no 13,” said Nakamura.
Players in the open section have 120 minutes to make their first 40 moves, with no increments available for those two hours.
Not only did Vidit’s attack with the bishop on the king force Nakamura into long bouts of thought, it also left him scrambling his pieces in desperate defensive moves on one side of the board which ultimately left a rook, a knight and a bishop underdeveloped on the other side of the board. The first time one of those three pieces — a bishop — left its starting square was in the 25th move. Its liberation was short-lived, it was murdered immediately.
Candidates Chess tournament: It was only on the 25th move that one of Hikaru’s backrank pieces on the queen side moved out of their starting square. (PHOTO: Screengrab courtesy Lichess.org)
Vidit, by now in complete control of the game, spent the next few moves toying with Nakamura’s king. Metaphorical vultures circled the board. On the 29th move, Nakamura had waved the white flag of surrender.
Candidates Chess tournament:
Members of Vidit Gujrathi’s entourage including his trainer Surya Shekhar Ganguly and his sister Vedika are photographer during his match against Hikaru Nakamura. (PHOTO: FIDE/Michal Walusza)
“This is easily the worst game of chess I have played in the last few years,” Nakamura admitted later.
Ahead of the event, Nakamura had told FIDE that he felt no pressure of playing at the Candidates because he thought of himself as a streamer who also played chess. He’d backed that up by streaming a recap video within hours of his first round draw at the Candidates, while the rest of the players probably went into a huddle with their trainers and seconds preparing for round 2.
On FIDE’s YouTube channel, commentators Viswanathan Anand and Irina Krush found it hard to control their laughter especially when Krush cheekily remarked: “This one is not going to be a fun recap video for Hikaru.”
Anand concurred. “It’s losing with white pieces in the second round of the Candidates!! It’s not going to be a fun recap video,” the five-time world champion grinned before lapsing into more laughter.
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