Nepomniachtchi shows his mettle

American Fabiano Caruana (left) following his enormous victory over France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the World Championship Candidates Tournament on Monday. The endgame favoured Caruana. (Photo: Lennart Ootes)  

As the World Champion-ship Candidates Tourna-ment continued, Russia’s number one chess player Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated his countryman Kirill Alekseenko in 31 moves in a Catalan setup with a fianchettoed king’s bishop in Round 10, which was played on Wednesday last.

Analysts of the game say Alekseenko was outplayed in the opening and experienced difficulties finding a safe haven for his powerful queen. I replayed the game and the sentiment expressed seems to be accurate.