Nepomniachtchi and Abasov tied at the Candidates Tournament in Toronto

MOSCOW, April 14. Russian chess player Ian Nepomniachtchi played a draw with Azerbaijani representative Nijat Abasov in the eighth round of the Candidates Tournament in Toronto.
The game, in which Nepomniachtchi played with white pieces, ended on the 63rd move.
Results of the remaining games of the round: Hikaru Nakamura (USA) — Fabiano Caruana (USA) — 1-0, Rameshbabu Pragnanandha (India) — Alireza Firouzja (France) — 0.5-0.5, Vidit Santosh Gujrati (India) — Gukesh Dommaraju (India) – 0-1.

After eight rounds, the leaders in the table are Nepomniachtchi and Dommaraju (5 points each), followed by Nakamura and Rameshbabu (4.5 each), Caruana (4), Gujrati (3.5), Firouzja (3) and Abasov (2.5).

The Candidates Tournament will last until April 22. Its winner will play a match for the world title with the current title holder, Chinese Ding Liren.
In the women's candidates tournament, which also takes place in Toronto, in the eighth round, Lei Tingjie defeated Chinese Tan Zhongyi (1-0), Indian Humpy Koneru beat compatriot Rameshbabu Vaishali (1-0), Ukrainian Anna Muzychuk tied with Bulgarian Nurgul Salimova (0.5-0.5).

After eight rounds, three chess players have five points each — Russian Alexandra Goryachkina, Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi. Next comes another Russian — Ekaterina Lagno (4.5). Salimova and Koneru have 3.5 points each, Muzychuk has 3 points, and Vaishali closes the table (2.5). The Candidates Tournament will last until April 22. Its winner will play a match for the world title with the current title holder, Chinese Ju Wenjun.